Star Fox: A New Threat
by Eamon Gallagher
Summary: This is a crossover with three different universes: Star Fox, Star Trek and Star Wars. The setting takes place just after the Aparoid Invasion and Fox and the group end up in a war between the United Federation of Planets and the CIS. DUE FOR REWRITE
1. Chapter 1

Star Fox: A New Threat

**Synopsis**

This story begs a question that seems to interest every fan of Star Fox: what would it be like if the worlds of Star Fox, Star Trek and Star Wars all coexisted. The story takes place only a few days after the events of Star Fox: Assault. After returning to Corneria with the team, Fox McCloud meets an old friend who has become part of the United Federation of Planets and is now the commander of the most famous ship in all of Starfleet: the USS _Enterprise._ He informs Fox that he must leave soon to respond to a strange signal in the Parvenian System. He is gone for four days, giving the team some time for rest and relaxation, and giving Fox some time alone with his teammate and girlfriend, Krystal. When the _Enterprise_ returns, the ship is nearly destroyed, some of the crew members have been killed, and there is troubling news. The _Enterprise_ has discovered an army of titanic proportions that threatens the survival of the Federation and the galaxy.

(Some inspiration taken from the fan-fiction, _Star Fox: Assault,_ from the fan-fiction website, _Krystal Archive_)

**Chapter 1: Return to Corneria**

"Krystal. Come on, Krystal, wake up." Fox whispered in the blue vixen's ear. Krystal slowly opened her eyes to see Fox McCloud standing over her bed and gave him a small smile.

"Morning, handsome." she said as she sat up. She looked over at the clock on her desk in her quarters. She was surprised to see that it was already 11:00. "Oh, wow. I didn't realize I had slept in so late."

Fox smiled and leaned down and gave Krystal a light kiss.

"I just wanted to let you know that we'll be landing on Corneria soon." Fox said.

"Thanks. Now that the Aparoid invasion is over, maybe we can finally get some time to ourselves down there." Krystal said with a playful grin on her face.

Fox smiled at that and gave her another tender kiss. "That'd be nice. Well, I need to head to the bridge. I'll see you in a few minutes." he said as he started to walk out the door.

"I love you, Foxie." Krystal said.

"I love you too." he said as he walked out the door. Up on the bridge Falco was sitting back in his chair.

"God, we're finally done!" Falco said with a tone of relief.

"Yeah, I know. I thought it would never end." said Fox. "What's our ETA, Peppy?"

"About forty-five minutes. Is Krystal awake yet?" Peppy asked.

"Yeah, I just woke her up." Fox replied.

"So, you lookin' forward to a week alone with your girlfriend, lover boy?" Falco asked in a suggestive tone.

"Ah, shut up Falco." Fox said with a laugh in his voice. "But to answer your question, yes."

Falco smiled. "Nice come back, Fox. Simple and effective." Falco said.

At that moment, Krystal walked onto the bridge. Falco smiled and raised an eyebrow, clearly anticipating a little romantic moment between her and Fox. He was right. Fox went up to her and gave her a long, passionate kiss.

"Aww…how sweet." Falco said in his sarcastic tone. Fox just smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Good morning, Krystal. You slept in quite late." Peppy said.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry about that."

"Oh, it's no problem." the old hare replied. Suddenly ROB's voice came over the intercom. "Arrival at Corneria in ten minutes."

"Wow, we're pretty damn early." Peppy said. "Falco, why don't you go tell Slippy."

"Sure thing, old man." Falco said in a rather good tone of voice.

"Well, Fox, welcome home." said Peppy.

"Good to be home." Fox replied.

"It'll be nice to see what Corneria's like without someone trying to kill us." said Krystal.

Fox smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Trust me, Krystal, you're going to love it."

"You grew up there, didn't you?" she asked.

"Mm-hmm. A lot of memories on that planet. You know, we're gonna be there for a week. I should show you where I used to live." Fox said.

"I'd like that." Krystal said as she put her arms around his shoulders. Fox stared into her beautiful, blue eyes, and Krystal into his. The two vulpines were completely absorbed into each other. At that moment, ROB's voice was heard again. "Five minutes."

"Well, we'd better get ready." said Krystal. She leaned in and gave Fox a light kiss. The two walked to the exit ramp where Falco and Slippy were standing. The door opened up on the city where a huge crowd of fans was waiting. Their cheering almost drowned out the sound of the Great Fox's engines. Falco's eyebrows shot up. "Great. Here we go again."

"Ah, come on Falco." Slippy said. "It's not that bad." Falco looked at Slippy and raised his eyebrow.

"What are you, blind and deaf?" replied Falco.

"You might want to just stick with me, Krystal." Fox whispered. "These crowds can get a little…over-bearing at times." Fox put his arm around Krystal's waist which made the crowd cheer even louder. Krystal blushed at the cheering and moved a little closer to Fox.

The crowd was the largest and loudest crowd the team had ever seen. It took them almost ten minutes just to get through. When Fox and Krystal finally made it out, Fox heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Well, well, well. They sure are scraping the bottom of the barrel for fighter pilots these days, aren't they." the voice said. Fox whirled around and saw a familiar face. Standing there was a young Cornerian red fox, about twenty-four years old, a year younger than Fox and a year older than Krystal. He was about Fox's height and was wearing an officer's uniform. His most distinct feature was his eyes. If you stared into his eyes, you could tell that he could see right through you. He was smiling at the two Star Fox pilots.

Fox couldn't believe his eyes. "Jim?"

"In the flesh." the young vulpine replied.

A huge smile came across Fox's face as he went up and shook the vulpine's hand. "Krystal, this is an old friend of mine, James Kavannagh. Jim this is Krystal."

"It's very nice to meet an old friend of Fox, James." Krystal said.

"Uh, just call me Jim."

"Oh, sorry." Krystal replied.

"No problem." Fox was very impressed with how proper Jim was. He didn't go mouth-a-gape or stutter like Bill did when he met Krystal. All he did was introduce himself.

"So Jim, how have things been? I haven't seen you since we went our separate ways after the Academy." said Fox.

"Things have been going very well. You probably haven't noticed the uniform." Jim replied.

"Hey! Look at that." Fox then noticed the silver stars on his collar "Good God, you're a general! So you joined the Cornerian Army?" asked Fox.

"No. After the Academy I decided to join the United Federation of Planets. Specifically, Starfleet. So that would actually make me an admiral."

"Hey, even better." Fox joked, and the two friends started laughing. This left Krystal confused.

"Fox, what's the United Federation of Planets?" She asked.

"Well…" Fox began, but was cut off by Jim.

"It's a pretty long story." Jim said.

"Well, we've got plenty of time." Fox said.

"I don't. I have a meeting up at Federation Headquarters in a few minutes. But, you know, that shouldn't last longer than an hour. So maybe after the meeting we could meet up for lunch. That way I can properly introduce myself and answer any questions." said Jim.

"Sure that'd be great." said Fox.

"Right, I'll see you after the meeting." said Jim, as he shook Fox's hand and went on his way. An hour later, Fox and Krystal were standing at the bottom of the stairs of the Federation Headquarters, when they saw Fox's friend coming down the steps.

"Well, that didn't last very long. So anyway, you guys ready to go?" asked Jim.

"Yeah." said Fox. They three of them went to a pub that Jim recommended. They sat down as Jim began to 'properly introduce himself'.

"It's good to see you again, Fox." Jim said. "How have things been with Star Fox? I couldn't help but notice the ocean of fans at the docking bay." Fox laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Things have been going very well." he replied.

"So who are your crew members? I mean other than Krystal?" Jim asked.

"Falco Lombardi is my first lieutenant and the team's ace pilot. He's gotta be one of the best pilot's I've ever seen. You should have seen him during the Aparoid invasion. Given the opportunity, he could probably fly circles around a Federation fighter." The two friends laughed at that remark.

"I don't know. You've never seen an ARC-170 in action."

"Well, you've never met Falco." Jim lowered he head and laughed.

"Slippy's the team's engineer. He's pretty good at repairs and flying, but when it comes to ground combat, not so much." Jim laughed again.

"And Krystal is the newest member of the group. She joined after the Sauria Crisis. Her homeworld of Cerinia was destroyed."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." Jim said.

"Thank you" replied Krystal with a tear in her eye as she remembered her parents.

"From what I saw as you got off the Great Fox, it seems that you two are more than just teammates." Jim said in a suggestive tone.

"Yes." said Krystal. "Fox and I are in a relationship."

"Is that so? Well I'm happy for the two of you." Jim replied. Fox and Krystal both smiled.

"So, where did you two first meet." Krystal asked.

"We first met at the Cornerian Academy." Jim started. "Fox had joined at age fourteen and I joined at thirteen. He was a little indecisive about joining up, or so he says." Fox laughed and shook his head, remembering that that's what he said to everyone who asked him why he was so late to join the Academy. "We became friends our first year. We even had all the same classes together. We kept in touch after we graduated but started falling out after Fox's dad died. Fox wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and became the leader of Star Fox. He offered me a position on the team, but I turned it down because I had plans to join the Federation."

"Now, that's where I'm confused. What's the Federation?" asked Krystal.

"The Federation was started in the Laurentian System over 600 years ago between the planets Earth, Vulcan, Andoria and Tellar Prime. Over the years, the Federation's influence began to spread and other planets were soon admitted. Corneria was admitted only about 100 years ago." explained Jim.

"And what about this branch you're involved in. Uh…Starfleet was it?"

"Yes, I joined Starfleet after graduating the Academy. I began my service aboard the USS _Farragut._ I served on that ship for about seven months until I was wounded in the Laurentian System in a battle against the infamous Klingon Empire. That wound turned out to be my salvation. While I was on medical leave, the _Farragut_ was destroyed. After that, I served some time as the first officer on the USS _Berlin_. While I was on that ship, I got involved in another battle against the Klingons. During that battle, the captain was killed, and me being the first officer, I had to take his place. As commander of the lead ship in the fleet, a lot of weight fell on my shoulders, but we were miraculously able to defeat the Klingons with minimal casualties. After the battle, the Federation decided to reward me for my heroics, and gave me a position of command in Starfleet."

"Yeah, I noticed that you were a commander. You command your own ship, right?" asked Fox.

"Not just any ship. I am the commander of a very, very, very famous ship." said Jim.

"Which one?" Fox asked

"Well, what's the first very, very, very famous starship you can think of?"

"Well, the only one I can think of in the USS _Enterprise._ Every cadet in the Academy hoped to captain that ship someday and…" Fox stopped and looked at his friend. He was smiling and nodding at Fox.

"You can't be serious." said Fox. "You mean to say that you're…"

"Yes, sir. I am the commander of the most famous ship in all of Starfleet: the USS _Enterprise_." Jim replied.

Fox was speechless. He couldn't believe that Jim had gotten the most coveted position of command in the Lylat System.

"Well Fox, it would seem that I've just about equaled your fame." Jim said.

"What do you mean by that?" Fox asked with a bit of a laugh.

"Well we're both famous commanders. You command Star Fox, the most famous fighter group in the system and I command the _Enterprise_, the most famous ship in Starfleet." Jim replied.

"Good point." Fox said. "Hey, Jim, what was that meeting about today?"

"I probably shouldn't talk about it in public."

"Well what harm could it do?" asked Krystal. Jim thought about it for a while and finally conceded.

"Well, the Federation has picked up some strange signals after making a magnetic wave survey in the Parvenian System. The _Enterprise _is being sent to investigate." said Jim.

Fox began to look a little worried, since they had just come out of a war. He hoped that this wouldn't mean the start of another one.

"What do you think these signals are?" he asked.

"Oh, probably nothing too major. Last time the _Enterprise_ was sent to investigate some strange signals it was just a group of pirates. They were easily dealt with. Probably just something along those lines." said Jim.

"Well that's good." Fox said with a tone of relief.

"So when does the _Enterprise_ launch?" asked Krystal.

"Tomorrow at about twelve o'clock. It'll take us about four days to do a complete sweep of the Parvenian System." Jim replied.

"Well, good luck, Jim." said Fox.

"Thanks, Fox."

"Well, we'd better get going. Falco and Slippy are probably already checking into the hotel. Krystal and I'd better do the same." said Fox.

"Which hotel?" asked Jim.

"The Grand Cornerian. Why?"

"Well there's going to be a celebration at the Grand Cornerian tonight for the 500th Anniversary of the USS _Enterprise_, and I was wondering if you and the rest of the team would like to attend."

Fox looked at Krystal, who smiled and gave him her _oh, why not_ look.

"What time?" asked Fox.

"Eight o'clock."

"That's fine. We'd love to come." Krystal replied. Fox smiled at her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Excellent. I'll see you two tonight then." Jim said. "Oh, you probably already guessed this but the dress code is formal." Fox and Krystal laughed.

"Well, I need to head back to my office and collect a few things. I'll see you two tonight." he said as he shook Fox's hand and went out the door.

"Fox?"

"Yeah, Krystal?"

"You looked a bit…concerned when Jim was talking about those signals. Is everything alright?" she asked.

"I'm just a bit worried about what it might be. We just got out of a war and I just hope that it isn't anything too serious. Plus, I don't want to see Jim get hurt." Fox said, in a worried tone.

Krystal leaned her head on Fox's shoulder and looked up into his eyes. Fox tried to break his gaze at Krystal's beautiful cerulean blue eyes, but to no avail.

"It'll be alright. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." said Krystal.

"I love you so much, Krystal." Fox said as he gave her a tender kiss.

"I love you too, Fox." said Krystal. "We should probably get going before Falco starts a rumor."

"Good idea." said Fox as the couple walked out, hand in hand, thoughts about the signals still buzzing around in Fox's head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Anniversary **(use the following key for the Scenes From a Hat scene: "Fox", _"Falco"_, "**Slippy**", "Jim", "_**Chancellor**_" Yes, I added Whose Line is it Anyway for comic relief. Just bear with me on this one.)

After their visit with Jim Kavannagh, Fox and Krystal checked into the hotel. Later, they managed to persuade Falco to attend the anniversary of the _Enterprise_. Slippy wasn't too hard to persuade. That night, Fox waited outside Krystal's room, dressed in his formal Star Fox commander's uniform, to take her to the ballroom. Krystal came out in a silver dress that Fox had never seen before. Fox had never seen her so beautiful.

"How do you like it, Fox?" Krystal asked. "It used to belong to my mother. Do you think it will be alright to wear?"

"Oh, Krystal, you look absolutely beautiful." Fox said. At that moment, Krystal's eyes lit up. She smiled and leaned in and gave Fox a deep, passionate kiss. Down in the lobby, they met Falco and Slippy, who were wearing their Star Fox lieutenant uniforms.

That night, the hotel's ballroom was packed. Almost the entire Federation was there. After nearly fifteen minutes of searching, the four pilots had finally found Jim, who was wearing his blue Federation uniform with three silver stars on each collar.

"Hey, you guys made it." Jim said.

"Yeah, we're all here. Damn I've never seen it this packed." Fox said.

"I tell you what, half of the entire Federation showed up." joked Jim. "So I take it, these are the other two members of Star Fox."

"Yes, this is my first lieutenant and ace pilot, Falco Lombardi. Falco this is my old friend, Jim Kavannagh." said Fox.

"Good to finally meet you Falco. Fox has told me quite a bit about your piloting skills." Jim said.

"Good to meet you too, Jim. However, Fox hasn't told me too much about you." Falco replied.

"And this is my engineer, Slippy Toad." Fox said.

"Good to meetcha, Jim." Slippy said.

"Likewise. I haven't heard very much about you though." Jim said.

"Yeah. I kinda figured." replied Slippy. Both Jim and Fox laughed at Slippy's remark. The festivities began and everyone was enjoying themselves. There was dancing, music, food, and chatter. Jim gave Falco and Slippy the same story that he had given Fox and Krystal earlier. Falco seemed very interested as Jim told him about his time on the USS _Farragut _and his battle against the Klingons, while Fox and Krystal spent most of their time on the dance floor. After a while, the Federation Chancellor, Wilhelm Earhart, an aging German shepherd, went up to the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, members of the United Federation of Planets, honored guests, we are here tonight to celebrate the 500th anniversary of my wife and I's marriage." he said and the whole crowed burst out into laughter.

"I thought you might like that." he said. "We are here to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the commissioning of the USS _Enterprise._ At this moment I would like to invite Vice Admiral James Patrick Kavannagh, who is the commander of the _Enterprise_, up to the microphone to say a few words on behalf of the ship and all those who once served aboard this famous vessel. Come on up, Jim."

"Thank you, Chancellor. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for attending this celebration. I cannot tell you how much it means to me, and the crew. I wasn't expecting this, and so I don't have much to say, but I'll see what I can do. On March 19, 2281, the USS _Enterprise_ was commissioned as the Federation's newest flagship. She started her service under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer, who commanded the ship for five years. During that time, her full potential as a Federation cruiser was fully realized. I am proud to follow in the footsteps of such notable commanders as Christopher Pike, James Kirk, and Jean-Luc Picard. I think they would be proud to see their ship now. The men that I have served with are the greatest men I have ever known. We have been through much together and it has been an honor to serve with these men. Together, through thick and thin, these wonderful gentlemen have carried out their duties beyond expectation. No medal can be awarded to them that would do justice for their efforts. We have all formed, on this ship, a bond that cannot be broken. I could never imagine a better position than the one I hold now, and years from now, when I am asked about my service in the United Federation of Planets, I will be proud to say that I was given the opportunity to command the crew of the USS _Enterprise_. Thank you, and may God bless you all." As Jim ended his speech, the crowd erupted in applause. Then the chancellor got back up to announce the final event on the agenda.

"Thank you for those very moving words Jim. Now we're going to need you to stay on stage for our final event of the night. We're going give you an opportunity to show your comedic side in a little game that was started on Earth before the first stardate. That would be a little game of _Whose Line is it Anyway?_" Jim was dreading this. Everyone knew that he was funny but he hated showing it on stage. The chancellor asked him to choose a few volunteers. He ended up choosing the Star Fox team. However, Krystal was a bit reluctant to go up on stage. Fox tried to get her up on stage but to no avail. During the game, Krystal finally got a look at the team's sense of humor. She already knew about Fox's sense of humor, but he was the one who made her laugh the most. Fox and Falco hated the game, "Hoedown" since it was a game where they had to sing a hoedown using lyrics off of the top of their heads. Falco crashed and burned, but Fox managed to make everyone, especially Krystal, laugh. The group's best performance was during the game, Scenes From a Hat.

"_**Alright, so now we're gonna move on to a game called Scenes From a Hat. So, what we do is before the game, we ask the audience for suggestions for scenes they'd like to see our performers act out, we take the good ones and we put them in this hat and we see how many our performers can act out starting with: trivial reasons to hold a news conference."**_

"_I have called you all here to announce this news conference."_

"I have called you all here to announce that Jimmy is no longer cracking corn and I do care."

"Got a new podium." 

"_**Unlikely first lines of medical ads."**_

"Been decapitated recently?"

"_**Bad choices to make when your genie grants you three wishes."**_

"**Uh, two Cokes and some chips."**

"_**First drafts of famous movie quotes."**_

"Follow the yellow-brick toad. Follow the yellow-brick toad."

"_I'll be back, in a couple minutes. I have some things I have to do then I'll be right back."_

"Go ahead…Make a cake."

"**Fredzilla! Fredzilla!"**

"Luke, I am your second uncle, twice removed."

"_**Things you shouldn't do during an earthquake."**_

"Right, time to split that atom."

"_**Oh, please be kind. What Chancellor Earhart is really thinking during cabinet meetings."**_

"There isn't even a cabinet in here."

"_**Things the pilot wishes he hadn't said while the intercom was on."**_

"**Ooh, those burritos are coming back on me." **

"This is easier than I thought."

"_I just love that movie where they all crash into the mountain and eat each other."_

"_**The good news and the bad news."**_

"Whew, the elections are over…Chancellor Earhart?"

"_**Pull the string on the Chancellor Earhart doll and it says…"**_

"It was nice the time we worked together, Jim. You're fired."

"_**Bad things to say to someone on their deathbed."**_

"What are gonna do with your stereo?"

"_About that twenty credits you owe me."_

"So when do you think Jade will be ready to date again?"

The last two scenes from the hat made Krystal laugh the hardest.

"_**Bad things to do in a police line-up."**_

Fox got up on stage and mouthed the words, "You're dead." The whole crowed burst out, laughing in agreement. Fox's last idea for this scene almost made Krystal fall out of her chair when he called up all four of them, they all stood in the "police line-up" and started doing a riverdance.

The final scene created the largest laugh.

"_**What Jim Kavannagh is thinking right now."**_

"I have a career. What the hell am I doing?" Suddenly, the whole crowd erupted into laughter.

"Well ladies and gentlemen," the chancellor said, "that is the end of the game. Now I would like to move on to our closing ceremonies." The crowd was seated as the chancellor was handed a small, black, velvet covered box. "Would Vice Admiral James Patrick Kavannagh please step forward?" Jim stepped up and stood at attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that James Kavannagh, for his excellent service aboard the _Enterprise, _is being promoted to Admiral." The chancellor then placed an extra silver star on each collar and shook his hand.

"Now, to conclude this celebration, let us all raise our glasses." Each member of the party raised their champagne glasses.

"To the USS _Enterprise_ and to all who are serving aboard, have served aboard, and will one day serve aboard this amazing ship."

The rest of the crowd responded, "To the _Enterprise_!" and with that, the celebration was concluded. Everyone shook Jim's hand and congratulated him on their way out.

"So, Jim, the _Enterprise_ is heading out tomorrow, right?" asked Fox.

"Yeah, at twelve o'clock." Jim replied.

"Well, good luck, and congratulations on your promotion." Fox said.

"Thanks. You did an excellent job in Scenes From a Hat. That was hilarious what you had us do in the police line-up." Fox, Jim and Krystal all started laughing as they remembered the random riverdance.

"Thanks for showing up. I really appreciate it." Jim said. "I hope to see you all tomorrow at the launch."

"Don't worry. We'll be there." said Falco. He obviously wanted to get a closer look at the ship.

"Right, well I'd better be heading home. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow. Goodnight you guys." he said as he shook Fox's hand and went on his way. The group went upstairs to get some much-needed rest. Falco and Slippy went back into their rooms as Fox walked Krystal back to her room.

"You were hilarious, Fox." she said. She giggled as she thought about the game.

"Thanks Krys." Fox replied and kissed her head.

_That was a night never to forget._ Fox thought.

"Never." Krystal said and Fox remembered that she was telepathic. They arrived at Krystal's room and she turned around and gave Fox a long, loving kiss.

"Goodnight, Foxie. I love you." she said.

"I love you too, Krys. I'll see you in the morning." Fox said and headed back to his room. "_That was the best night of my life."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Some Time Alone/The Separatists**

The next morning, Fox was up early and so was Falco. Both of them were eager to see the _Enterprise_. Krystal was also pretty interested, while Slippy wasn't very concerned. The group had heard some reports on the size of the ship, but when they arrived at the docks, they couldn't believe their eyes. Their first look at the USS _Enterprise_ left them speechless. The ship was enormous. It completely dwarfed the Great Fox. It was the length of seven city blocks, ten times the width of the Great Fox and some compartments on the ship were seven stories high, and on the ship's hull, in big black letters, was written _NCC-1701-D USS ENTERPRISE._

"That is one big damn ship!" Falco said_, _eyes wide open.

"I've never seen a ship this big!" Krystal exclaimed. Even Slippy, who at first wasn't very interested, went wide-eyed and speechless.

The team headed toward the docks where they met Jim, who was speaking to the first lieutenant. Standing next to him was a young Cornerian vixen, a little younger than Jim. She was in a Starfleet officer's uniform.

"Ah, you made it." Jim said as he turned and face the Star Fox team.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world." Fox replied. "So who is this?"

"This is my girlfriend and first officer, Kara Williams. She was at the anniversary last night but I don't think I had a chance to introduce you to her." Jim said. "However, I think she did have a chance to meet Falco."

"Yes, that's right." Kara said. "I was introduced to you while Jim was giving you his background story." Jim smiled at the vixen.

"Oh, yeah. That's right. Jim was telling me about his first battle against the Klingons when he introduced you." Falco recalled.

"Well, what do think of the ship?" asked Jim.

"It's amazing. This has to be the biggest ship I've ever seen." Krystal replied. Jim laughed at the fact that they were all still staring at the enormous vessel.

"Yeah, it's pretty easy to get lost in there." Kara said. Jim smiled and put his arm around her waist.

"Well, you're all here a bit early. We don't head out for another three hours. How about I give you a tour of the bridge?" The team boarded the ship and Jim took them to the command bridge. Once again their eyes opened wide and their jaws dropped. The group had never seen a more advanced ship. After Jim gave them the tour of the bridge, he led them to the ship's recreation hall, where he introduced Kara. Krystal and Fox asked all of the questions.

"So, Jim, where did you two first meet?" asked Fox.

"We first met on the USS _Farragut_." Kara began. "Jim had come aboard as the new first lieutenant. He and I started out as friends, but our relationship elevated about a month later. From that point on, it's been amazing." Jim smiled at her remark and gave Kara a quick peck on the cheek.

"Kara was transferred to the USS _Berlin_ only a couple of days before my battle against the Klingons." Jim continued. "Looking back, I'm glad that happened. The section that she would normally be working on was completely destroyed."

"And, after the _Farragut_ was destroyed, you were transferred to the _Berlin,_ right?" Krystal said.

"Mm-hmm. Kara was the first lieutenant and I was the first officer. I always seemed to be one rank above her." Kara smiled and gave Jim a light punch on the shoulder. Jim laughed and gave Kara a pull of affection toward him.

"Were you there for Jim's second battle against the Klingons, Kara?" asked Krystal.

"Yes. That had to be one of the scariest moments of my life. We were completely outnumbered and I didn't think we were going to make it. But Jim managed to lead us to victory somehow. He's an amazing commander. However, I'm surprised at how well he can fly an ARC-170." Jim chuckled at the remark.

"So, how'd you manage to get a position on the _Enterprise_?" asked Fox.

"I'll take responsibility for that." Jim said. "After I assumed command of the ship, I appointed her as first officer. She's one of the best officers in all of Starfleet." Kara then leaned up and kissed Jim. Suddenly, the first lieutenant's voice was heard over the intercom announcing the launch.

"Well, we'll be on our way soon." Jim said. "We'll see you in a few days."

"Alright. Good luck out there, Jim." Fox said as he shook Jim's hand and exited the ship. Jim walked Kara back to the bridge.

"So, that was your friend from the Cornerian Academy, huh?" said Kara.

"Yep. We only just ran into each other yesterday. It's quite nice to see him again." Jim replied.

"His girlfriend is beautiful too." Kara said. "Where is she from again?"

"Fox told me that she was born on Cerinia, but lived most of her life on Sauria, the reason being that Cerinia was destroyed. Her parents were killed in the process."

"Oh my God, that's so sad." Kara said.

"I know." Jim said. "I know what it's like to lose your parents, but then on top of that, to lose your home planet? I could never imagine that. It must be very painful." Jim replied as he thought about his own parents.

Back up on the bridge, the rest of the crew was ready to go. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let's get this over with." Jim said. "Have you run all of the necessary diagnostics on the ship, Data?"

"Yes sir. Everything is at normal status." Data was the first lieutenant on the _Enterprise_ and served with Jean-Luc Picard nearly 400 years ago, the reason being that Data was an android. He was considered one of the best crew members, in that emotions never got in his way because he did not have them.

"Alright, sounds good. Helmsman, separate from the dock." Jim ordered.

"Aye, sir."

The ship made a jolt as the docking hooks detached from the ship.

"Take her out nice and easy."

The ship rose from the ground and began hovering over the city. The helmsman then spun the ship around and pointed the bow a little above the horizon. The _Enterprise_ began to leave the atmosphere toward the space dock above the planet, which served as a checkpoint for departing ships. There was a loud roar as the _Enterprise_ departed for the space dock. Back on the planet, everyone moved to a large video monitor inside the docks' main terminal. There, they could witness the final departure of the _Enterprise._ The Star Fox team moved inside to see.

"_Space dock, this is NCC-1701-D requesting passage, over."_ Jim's voice said over the intercom.

"_NCC-1701-D, you are cleared for departure. Good luck out there, out."_

"_Data, maximum warp."_

"_Aye, sir."_

Suddenly the engines of the _Enterprise _began to glow brighter and brighter, until suddenly the ship disappeared as it entered warp, and the _Enterprise_ was gone. There was applause of good luck from the crowd as they went on their way.

"Well, that was pretty amazing." Falco said.

"Yeah. I tell you what, this has been a pretty interesting opening to our week here on Corneria." Slippy said with a bit of a laugh.

"Yeah, it'll be kinda nice to finally start relaxing." Fox said. "So, what do you guys have planned?"

"We figured we'd just make it up as we go along." Falco said.

"Well, the two of you go ahead and have fun. Krystal and I have our own plans." Fox replied. Falco and Slippy went on their way while Fox took Krystal on a little tour of where he grew up. Krystal smiled and leaned her head against Fox's shoulder.

"So, what do you think they're going Fox?" she asked.

"If I know Falco, he's probably gonna spend his whole day at the gun range." Fox said with a laugh in his voice.

"It'll be nice to see where you grew up." Krystal said.

"Trust me, you're going to love this city." The two walked on hand in hand. Fox showed her all of the places he remembered when he was a kit. He showed Krystal his old house and a small grassy area on the outskirts of town where he and his father would have pretend battles. Near the end of the day, Fox took Krystal to a section of the beach that only he and his parents knew about. It was a secluded are with few rocks and a clear view of the horizon. That evening, the two sat on the beach to watch the sunset.

"Beautiful, isn't it Fox?" Krystal said.

"It sure is." Fox said as he kissed Krystal's head. She then leaned her head on Fox's shoulder and gave him a deep, passionate kiss. The two stayed on the beach until dark. They walked back to the hotel, Fox's arm around Krystal's waist.

"It's so nice to finally be alone, just the two of us." Krystal said. She let out a loud yawn as they got to the hotel.

"Tired?" said Fox.

"Mm-hmm." said Krystal, as she started to doze off. Fox walked Krystal back to her room. Before she went in, she gave Fox one more passionate kiss.

"Thanks for showing me around, Foxie."

"Anytime, Krys." Fox replied. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight, Fox. I love you." Krystal said in a soft, warm voice.

"I love you too." Fox said with the same tone of warmth and love.

As Fox walked back to his room, his feelings of worry about what the _Enterprise_ was going to investigate returned. He went back to his room, trying to reassure himself that it was nothing. But for some reason, he couldn't get rid of the feeling that the _Enterprise _was warping into a trap. He went to his computer to do a little research.

"Computer, bring up information on the Parvenian System."

"_Affirmative." _the computer's voice said. _"Parvenian System, Delta Quadrant. Composed of twenty-three planets. Two planets have been admitted into the Federation, Naboo and Tatooine."_

"What is the current military condition of the system?"

"_Recent reports from Naboo suggest possible conflicts. Aggressors are a group known as the CIS, Confederacy of Independent Systems."_

"Bring up information on the Confederacy of Independent Systems."

" _One moment…Confederacy of Independent Systems. Government: Separatist Confederacy. Constitution: Articles of Secession. Commander-in-Chief: Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies. Head of State: Unknown. De facto Leader: Unknown. Head of Government: Separatist Council. Founded in the year 2453. Relationship with the United Federation of Planets: Hostile."_

At those words, Fox's heart sank. He knew that the Separatists were waiting for Jim. _I've gotta find out more. Maybe if I could access the Federation's memory banks._

"Computer access Federation Memory Alpha."

"_Access requires Federation Level 1 clearance."_

"Damn." Fox thought. Then he got an idea. "James Patrick Kavannagh, Admiral, USS_ Enterprise_, NCC-1701-D, 23rd Fleet, Starfleet, United Federation of Planets." Fox said.

"_Access granted."_ the computer replied.

_Thank God_, Fox thought.

"Access current military actions of the Confederacy of Independent Systems."

"_Current condition of Separatist forces: Active."_

_Oh, no, _Fox thought. The computer continued. _"Recent Separatist attacks: Kashyyyk, Felucia, Mustafar, Hoth, Naboo, Kamino, Utapau, Tatooine, Mygeeto, Yavin 4, Endor."_

Fox fell back in his chair. He felt like he could barely breathe, knowing that his friend was about to enter a system that was mostly controlled by the Separatists. _Oh, God. This is bad. This is very, very bad, _he thought.

"Fox, are you alright?" a voice said behind him. Fox jumped and whirled around to see Krystal standing in the doorway. She had a concerned look on her face as she stared at Fox.

"Wh-What are you doing here, Krystal? Is everything okay?" Fox asked with a near breathless voice. He then remembered that she was telepathic. She must have heard Fox's thoughts as he was doing his research.

"I felt a strange feeling coming from this room. It felt like you were in distress." Fox turned around and buried his face in his hands. Krystal went up and put her arms around Fox's shoulders.

"Fox, what's wrong?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"Jim's warping into a trap." Fox said.

"What do you mean?" asked Krystal with a bit of shock. Then she looked over to the computer screen and read exactly what Fox had. She gasped as she realized what was going on.

"This is bad." Fox said. "It's like fishing. The Separatists created that signal intentionally to lure the Federation in and now they've got the _Enterprise_ on the line. We've got to find some way to contact Jim and warn him."

Krystal gave Fox a tight hug to try to calm him down. She looked up into his eyes and Fox into hers.

"Fox, it will be alright. Didn't you see how advanced the _Enterprise_ was? And moreover, didn't you see how big it was? And if James can get through two battles against the Klingons and make it out with his life on both occasions, I think he can handle these Separatists." Krystal said. Fox was still concerned. Krystal didn't know how Fox did it, but he managed to break his gaze into Krystal's eyes. She brought his gaze back and gave him a deep kiss. "Stop worrying." she said. "He'll be fine."

Fox smiled and returned her kiss. "Alright, Krystal. Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just getting a bit worked up. You have a good point. If Jim can defeat the Klingons, he can defeat the Separatists."

Krystal smiled and hugged Fox again, resting her head on his shoulder. Fox sighed deeply as he felt a wave of relief surge over him.

"It'll be fine. Your friend isn't going to die." Krystal said as she stroked her hand through the fur on Fox's forehead.

"Thanks, Krys. I can't imagine what it would be like if I hadn't met you." Fox said. Krystal blushed and leaned in to give Fox a tender kiss.

"I should let you get some rest, and let you calm down a bit." Krystal said.

"Alright. Goodnight Krystal." Fox said.

"Goodnight. I love you, Foxie." Krystal said as she smiled and gave fox one last kiss.

"I love you too, Krystal." Fox said. She smiled and walked out the door. Fox looked over at the computer screen, which still displayed the details of the CIS and all of the planets they had attacked. Fox shook his head and shut off the computer. _Jim's gonna be fine. Krystal's right. I just need to calm down and stop worrying,_ he thought as he lay down on the bed and began to doze off into a peaceful sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Encounter with the CIS**

"_Admiral's Log, Stardate 458217.646. Following a magnetic wave survey of the Parvenian System, we have detected a group of signals which we cannot immediately identify. We are now in orbit above the planet of Utapau, which seems to be the source of these signals."_

The _Enterprise_ had finally reached the Parvenian System and was in orbit around the planet of Utapau. Jim was in his quarters when he heard Kara's voice over the ships intercom.

"Jim, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Is something wrong, Kara?" Jim replied.

"You'd better get up on the bridge. There's something you really need to see." Kara said in a concerned voice.

When Jim arrived on the bridge, he received some strange news.

"Ah, admiral. You've arrived. There is something interesting that I want you to take a look at." Data said as he pulled up two maps.

"Well, what is it?" Jim asked.

"This first map shows the signals that were picked up by Starfleet." Data explained. "And these are our current sensor readings." Data pulled up a visual scan of the ships short range sensor readings. Jim was surprised to see that the number of signals had increased dramatically.

"Data, how many of these new signals are there?" Jim asked with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Sensors are reading about one thousand new signals." Data replied.

The whole crew started whispering among themselves. Jim sat back in the captain's chair and wondered what this might be, or rather hoped what it might not be. Jim knew about the actions of the CIS in this system and he knew that they were hostile against the Federation. He just hoped that this wasn't a making of the CIS. Jim turned to his second lieutenant, Ayel, a Romulan who defected to the Federation after his wife was found guilty of a crime she didn't commit and sentenced to death.

"Suggestions, lieutenant?" Jim asked.

"I suggest that the _Enterprise_ should take a closer look at these signals." Ayel replied.

"How do you propose we do that?" Jim asked.

"Well, land on the surface." Ayel replied.

Jim was silent for a few moments but then countered his lieutenant's suggestion.

"No. I suggest we send a five-man squad down to the surface to do a little poking around."

"Only five men?" Ayel said. "Sir, why so few when the _Enterprise _is so much more heavily equipped?"

"Because a five-man squad is much less likely to be detected than a ship the size of the _Enterprise_." Data replied.

"Precisely. I want them to get in, assess the condition of the planet and get out without being seen." Jim said. Ayel thought about it for a minute then finally agreed. Five men were selected to be beamed down to the surface of Utapau.

"Transporter room, this is Admiral Kavannagh."

"_Aye, sir."_ the voice on the other end said.

"I want you to keep a lock on those men while they're down there, just in case they run into trouble."

"_Aye, sir. We'll keep a lock on them."_

The squad was sent down to the surface of Utapau. Among them was Commander Robert Archer, the great-great-great-great-great-grandson of the famous Admiral Jonathan Archer, the first commander of the USS _Enterprise_. Jim had told him several times that it was an honor to have the descendant of the famous admiral aboard the _Enterprise_. The readings on the radar left the commander confused. In the direction of the signals, there was nothing but a giant sinkhole.

"Commander Archer to USS _Enterprise_. Come in."

"_Enterprise_, Admiral Kavannagh. Go ahead."

"Sir, this is a bit confusing. We're looking in the direction of the signals, but there's nothing there."

"Hold on one moment." There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "Archer, are you still there?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, we're still here."

"In front of you, there should be a large sinkhole, a couple miles in diameter."

"Yes, sir, there is."

"The signals should be in there."

"In the sinkhole sir?"

"Yes. Haven't you ever heard about Utapau. It's famous for its huge sinkholes lined with cities."

Robert Archer looked down into the sinkhole and couldn't believe his eyes. It was lined with a huge city. He and the rest of the squad cautiously began their descent into the sinkhole. They began to move where the bulk of the signals were coming from. When they finally made it, what they saw shocked them.

_Oh my God,_ Archer thought.

"Robert, what's going on down there?" Jim said over the intercom.

"Sir, it's the CIS. These signals are the Droid Army."

Jim's eyes widened. He realized what he feared was true. The CIS had taken over Utapau.

"There's another thing, sir. There are two new droids." Archer said.

"Alright. Scan them and bring me a visual. We need to get you back on the ship and we need to get the hell out of here. The Federation has to know about this."

Archer managed to get a visual scan of the new droids, just before setting off the alarm.

"Sir, they've detected us!"

"Transporter room, beam them up now!" Jim yelled into the intercom.

"_Aye, sir!"_

The five men were beamed back on board, but not before two of the members were shot by a droid sniper.

"_Admiral, the squad has returned. Two are wounded."_

"What!" Jim exclaimed. "Data, take the Conn." Jim ordered as he and Kara headed to the medical bay. They were relieved to find out that their wounds were minor.

"Robert, follow me to my quarters. Kara, I want you to head back to the bridge." Jim said.

Kara headed back and Robert followed Jim.

"Alright, so do you have the visuals?" Jim asked.

"Right here, Jim." but before Robert could bring them up, Data's voice was heard on the intercom.

"Admiral, you are needed on the bridge."

"What is it?" asked Jim.

"Jim, you need to get up here now." Kara said.

Jim and Robert rushed back to the command bridge. When they got there, they looked out the front view and saw a huge CIS flagship, about the same size of the _Enterprise_. It was armed with a grid of automatic turret defenses and the bridge was set on top of a tower near the ship's aft.

"Admiral, we're being hailed" Ayel said.

"On screen." Jim said.

Ayel brought up the hailing screen. On the other end was a battle droid, who happened to be the commander of the ship.

"I am Admiral James Kavannagh of the USS _Enterprise_. To whom am I speaking?"

"I am OOM-9.1 of the Confederacy of Independent Systems." replied the droid in its typical monotone voice.

"Very well OOM-9.1. The presence of your army here is a direct violation of Federation Order 49.09. If you do not withdraw, I shall be forced to-"

"We do not answer to the Federation. If anyone is to withdraw, shall be you." and with that, the conversation ended.

"Sir, the enemy vessel is assuming an attack posture." Data said in his calm voice. "They have locked onto us, sir."

"Shields up! Red alert! Battle stations! Arm phasers! Fire at will, lieutenant." Jim ordered.

"Aye, sir!" replied Ayel.

With that, the battle began. Both ships began firing at one another, both struggling to damage the other. The two ships alone couldn't do any damage. Their shields were simply too strong. When Jim realized this, he decided to change tactics.

"All pilots report to the hangar area. Prep your ships for battle."

Every fighter and bomber pilot headed straight for the hangar. There they received their briefing. The plan was for the fighters to protect the bombers as they went in the disable the enemy ship's shields. Once the shields were down, a gunship would carry a landing party inside to disable the auto-turret mainframe. From there it was straight forward: hit the enemy ship as hard as possible. The fighter pilots were tasked with destroying enemy bombers that attempted to attack the _Enterprise_. As soon as the briefing was finished, all pilots rushed to their ships and launched…and so did the CIS.

Soon, it became a huge combat zone, both sides trying their hardest to destroy their enemies. The bombers took heavy fire from the auto-turret defenses on the CIS flagship, but still managed to bring down the shields.

"Sir, their shields are down." said Data.

"Excellent. Launch the landing party and shut down those auto turrets. Prepare to fire photon torpedoes." Jim ordered. The gunships were off and the helmsman brought the ship into an attack posture as the crew awaited the order to finish off the Separatist ship. It was rough, but the gunships managed to hold together and land inside the enemy hangar.

They managed to clear out the hangar and destroy all remaining spacecraft with ease, but fighting through the rest of the ship was a nightmare. The ship was heavily guarded and trying to fight through it was like trying to tunnel through a mountain with nothing but a sledge hammer.

Once the defenses were cleared, the saboteurs placed time bombs on the auto-turret defense mainframe. The landing party quickly ran back to the gunships. As they entered the ships, there was a large explosion and the auto turrets fell silent.

"1st Platoon to _Enterprise, _come in"

"_Enterprise,_ Admiral Kavannagh, go ahead number one."

"The auto turrets are now offline. Repeat, the auto turrets are now offline."

"Copy that, now get off of that ship. There's gonna be a big firework show in just a few minutes."

"Right, we're going."

The troops boarded the gunships and got out a quickly as possible.

"Fire photon torpedoes!" Jim ordered. With that a huge barrage of photon torpedoes pounded the Separatist ship.

"Sir, I am receiving strange readings from the enemy vessel." Data said. "I believe their reactor is about to go critical." As soon as Data finished speaking, there was a massive explosion from the enemy flagship. The ship broke in half as it fell towards the planet's surface.

"Yee-hah!" Jim exclaimed. "Alright men, arm phasers and let's clean up the rest of the…"

Jim stopped short as he looked out the frontal view of the ship and saw a whole fleet of ships just like the one they just destroyed. Suddenly, a CIS Strike Bomber dropped its payload on the _Enterprise_ and the whole ship shook, knocking Jim, Ayel, Kara and Data to the floor. Ayel quickly got back up and assessed the damage.

"Sir, our shields are down!" Ayel shouted.

"Admiral, I am reading about twenty-five enemy vessels and multiple incoming targets. I believe they have launched their fighters, sir." Data said.

Jim's eyes widened and he tightly grasped the captain's chair. _Oh, God._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Separatist Attack**

Four days later, back on Corneria, a large crowd was gathered at the Starfleet docks, eagerly awaiting the return of the USS _Enterprise_. Among the crowd was the Star Fox team. Fox was impatient, as he was eager to see Jim again and to find out what those signals were.

"How much time left, Falco?" Fox asked.

"Uhh…it looks like about fifteen minutes." Falco said.

"Great."

"Well, it looks like you're in a much better mood than you were four days ago, Foxie." Krystal said. "You aren't worried, are you?"

"Nah. I think Jim's gonna be fine." Fox said. Krystal sat down beside the Cornerian vulpine and rested her head on his shoulder. Fox smiled and kissed her head. Suddenly, the intercom announced the arrival of the _Enterprise_.

"Wow, they're early." Falco said as the crowd moved outside to see the ship land.

"Don't you want to go see the ship, Fox?" Krystal asked.

"I think we should wait until the crow clears up. We'll let everything settle down and then we'll go out to meet Jim." Fox replied.

Krystal giggled in agreement. "Good idea."

They heard the roar of the _Enterprise's_ engines, but for some reason, it sounded quieter than it did four days ago. Both their heads shot up as they heard the crowd gasp and start murmuring among themselves; _Oh my God, look at that! That's unbelievable! What happened! What happened!_

Fox and Krystal quickly ran outside to see what the crowd was talking about, and what they saw left them speechless and shocked. The _Enterprise_ had returned and was nearly destroyed. The starboard engine was nothing but a burnt pile of metal, there were several holes in the side and several burn marks on the hull.

The doors opened as the crowd rushed forward to see if any of their loved ones were still there. They were forced back by some of the crew members.

"Get back! Get back! We've got wounded!" they shouted. Fox saw Jim, Kara and Ayel on the exit ramp, trying to get the wounded crewmen off of the ship as quickly as possible. Fox couldn't believe what was going on.

Krystal caught up with Fox as they tried to push through the crowd. They reached the front but were stopped by one of the crew members.

"No one is permitted onto the docks." he said.

"You don't understand. The admiral is my friend." Fox said. The crewman didn't believe him. He tried to force Fox and Krystal back when Jim called out to them.

"Fox, Krystal, come give us a hand! Ensign, let them pass!"

The crewman stepped out of the way and let them pass. Jim led them up to the medical bay.

"Jim, what the hell happened!" Fox exclaimed.

"I'll explain later. First we've got to get the wounded to the hospital." Jim said in a breathless voice.

They ran patients off the ship as fast as they could, trying to assure them that they would be okay. When all of the wounded had left the ship, Chancellor Earhart arrived and met Jim on the exit ramp. Fox and Krystal stood behind him, hoping to hear what happened.

Jim stood at attention as the chancellor stood in front of him. He looked up and studied the ship then returned his gaze to the young admiral.

"Jim, what is the meaning of this." Jim made no answer. He just stood at attention.

"Jim, it's alright. Just tell me what happened."

"It was the CIS, sir. They've taken over the Parvenian System."

The chancellor's eyes widened when he heard this. Fox's heart sank as he heard this. What he had feared had become reality. Krystal was shocked too. She moved closer to Fox as he put his arm around her back.

"What happened to the ship?" Earhart asked.

"We were intercepted over the planet, Utapau. It was us versus twenty-five ships. There is thermal damage to the hull, the starboard engine has been destroyed, there's minor damage to the shield generator and our warp drive capabilities have been disabled. Our casualties are thirty-two dead, times two wounded." Jim replied. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to the chancellor, his hand trembling.

"Here are the names…of the dead, sir." He said with a shaky voice. "We landed on Rhen-Var and gave them a proper burial."

As Earhart took the paper, Jim turned his head and a tear fell from his eye as he remembered those who had died. Some of those crewman, he had known since his days in the Academy, and now they were gone.

Earhart put his hand on Jim's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault Jim. You did all you could." He said in a reassuring voice. Jim nodded his head and wiped the tear from his eye.

"You need to take some time off. I'm putting you on leave until the _Enterprise_ is repaired." Earhart said in a kind, reassuring voice.

"Thank you, sir." Jim said as he walked off the ramp and back onto the surface of the planet. Fox and Krystal followed him. Krystal could hear Jim's thoughts as he was walking and she knew that there was more.

"Jim!" she called out. He made no answer.

"Jim!" she called again as he continued walking.

"James Kavannagh!" she called out very loudly. Jim stopped, turned around and glared at the Cerinian vixen. Krystal's heart sank as she looked into Jim's striking eyes. She stepped back and held onto Fox. Fox looked at Krystal and saw how scared she was. He put his arm around her as if to protect her.

"Look, Jim, I know your hurt, but we have to know more. We know there's more. You have to tell us." Fox said.

Jim was silent for a few minutes, then spoke up. "Follow me." he said in a low, silent voice. He led the two Star Fox pilots to his office inside Federation headquarters. He pulled out the device that held the visual scans of the two new droids.

"You're right. There is more." Jim said. He brought up a map of the Parvenian System. Some of the planets were marked red. "The planets I have marked are the planets that are currently controlled by the CIS. As you can see, they control most of the system's twenty-three planets."

Jim closed the map and brought up an image of one of the new droids.

"The CIS has manufactured two new types of droids. This one is an upgraded version of their standard battle droid. They call it a Super Battle Droid. They are equipped with thicker armor and much more powerful weapons. Rather than a standard blaster rifle, they are given a blaster in their left wrists that can alternate between a blaster and a tri-shot. Their right wrists carry wrist rockets."

He then brought up an image of the second droid.

"We learned that these droids were manufactured on Mustafar. They are known as Magna Guards. They are equipped with short range rockets and grenade launchers that are lethal at close range but are very inaccurate at long distances. However, at long distance, their shape can easily be mistaken for that of a Federation soldier, therefore increasing the chances of friendly fire."

"Where is their base located?" Fox asked.

"All evidence points to the planet of Geonosis, but we haven't been able to prove it. If we are to find the Separatists' base of operations…" Jim stopped.

"What?" asked Krystal in a worried tone.

"If we are to find their base of operations, we're going to have to search every planet under Separatist control. I think you know what that means." Jim said as he looked at the two pilots.

"Another war?" said Fox.

Jim nodded his head. "Another war."

Fox dropped his head and let out a sigh. They had just gotten out of a war and now they were back to fighting again.

"It's going to take a while for me to convince the Federation Council to officially declare war on the CIS. So don't worry. It won't happen immediately." Jim said, hoping to relieve Fox in some way.

"Alright, Jim. Listen, I'm really sorry about those men who died." Fox replied.

"Thanks." Another tear fell from Jim's eye.

"Well, we'd better get going." Fox said. "I'm glad you made it back in one piece." Fox shook Jim's hand and took Krystal back to the hotel. As the two were walking, Krystal sensed a lot of frustration and anger coming from Fox. On the way, they ran into Falco, Slippy, Peppy and ROB.

"Fox, I heard about what happened." Peppy said.

"Well, what else did you hear?" Falco said.

"Quite a bit." Fox said.

"What is it, Fox?" Slippy asked eagerly.

"Listen, you'll all find out later." Fox replied in a sharp tone. "I just need to rest for now." He and Krystal headed back to the hotel. Fox was silent the whole way, save for a few murmurs under his breath. Krystal could tell that he was thinking about the crewmen who were killed as well.

"Fox… are you alright?" she asked. Fox remained silent.

When they returned to the hotel, Krystal decided to follow Fox into his room. He went inside and leaned over the desk.

"I can't believe this." he said. "This is unforgivable. The _Enterprise_ heads to the Parvenian System simply to investigate something that they can't recognize, they have no hostile intentions, they give their enemy a fair warning to withdraw, and the CIS attacks the ship at first sight!" Fox slammed his fist on the desk, causing Krystal to jump and take a small step back. She had never seen Fox this angry.

"Thirty-two men dead and twice that many wounded! The CIS is going to pay for this! This kind of action…it's just…Agh!" Fox yelled as he kicked the desk and sat on the edge of his bed, burying his face in his hands.

Krystal went up and knelt down in front of him. Fox lifted his head and looked at Krystal. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. He stood her up and gave her a tight hug. Krystal buried her face in Fox's shoulder, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry, Krystal." Fox said as he held her. "I'm sorry that this is happening."

Krystal looked up at Fox as he wiped the tears from her eyes. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you, Fox. I can't tell you how much I love you, and seeing you like this, in this much pain and rage…it's really scary." Krystal said.

"I know. I hate feeling this way too." Fox said. He brought Krystal's eyes level with his. "I'll be fine, Krys. I love you." Fox said as he and Krystal shared a long, deep kiss.

That night, Fox and Krystal told the rest of the team about what they had learned from Jim. Falco and Slippy went wide-eyed, and Peppy was indeed concerned, but it was hard to tell since his aged face was hard to decipher. When Fox was done explaining, Falco stated that if war did break out, that they would all go in and fight as a team. Fox smiled at his promise and agreed. The group went back to their rooms to get some much needed rest.

Once again, Krystal followed Fox to his room to make sure he was alright. Fox sat down at the desk as Krystal came up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing him on the cheek. Fox looked into Krystal's eyes, unable to break his gaze. The two vulpines smiled at each other.

"I'm sorry this had to happen, Krystal." Fox said.

"I know you are." Krystal replied as she stroked the fur on Fox's forehead. "Don't worry. It wasn't your fault. Are you sure you'll be alright, Fox?"

Fox smiled. "I'm sure."

"Well, I should probably let you get some rest." Krystal said as she gave Fox a tender kiss.

"Goodnight, Fox."

"Goodnight, Krystal."

Krystal waked out the door as Fox got up and lied down on the bed. He was thinking about all the events that had happened that day, and began to let it all flow and began to fall into a peaceful sleep.

All of a sudden, Fox heard a burst of machine gun fire, followed by another, and then another, then a few shots from a rifle, then the sound of an exploding grenade, then more machine gun fire. Soon, a chorus of gunshots and explosions began to ring out. Fox went out onto the balcony and looked toward the Federation HQ, where the shots seemed to be coming from. He saw multiple flashes from the building, accompanied by either gunshots or explosions.

_What the hell is going on?_, he thought.

"Fox?" said Krystal's voice.

Fox whirled around and saw Krystal standing in his room.

"Fox, what's happening?" she asked with a frightened voice.

"I don't know." he replied. Suddenly, the lights of the hotel were shut off, and the entire city went dark, as the flashes illuminated the Federation HQ. Krystal quickly took a hold of Fox. Just then, Fox's wrist communicator buzzed on the desk. He grabbed it as Jim's voice came over the communicator.

"Fox, are you there?" Jim yelled.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Are you still at the hotel?...Agh!"

"Yeah, we're all still here."

"Good! Stay there! Do not go outside! It's not safe!"

"Jim, what the hell is going on?"

"Federation Headquarters is under attack by the Separatists!" and the communication was cut off.

Fox looked over at Krystal, whose eyes were wide open at the news they had just received. Krystal stayed in Fox's room, their only light coming from the Federation HQ. For twenty minutes they stayed locked in the room until Fox had enough. He went to the closet and pulled out his blaster. Krystal tried to stop him when she realized what he was doing.

"Fox, you can't go there. You'll be killed." she said.

"I'm not just gonna sit here and let the Separatists kill Jim. I'm going." Fox said.

Krystal was silent for a moment. "Then I'm going with you." She said as Fox started walking out the door.

Fox stopped and was about to stop her from coming, but thought it over. "Normally I'd stop you, but I don't think I'd win that argument." he said.

Krystal ran to her room and got her blaster as the couple headed straight for the Federation Headquarters. Fox knew that the Separatists would be in control of the front of the building and he led Krystal around back. Fox had a retractable cable and shot it up toward the window that led into the Council Chamber. Krystal held on as tight as she could as not to fall off. When they reached the top, they were immediately met by Ayel.

"You must be Fox and Krystal." he said. "I thought Jim told you to stay in the hotel."

"He did. We're not going to let him fight without us." Fox said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Ayel. I'm a Romulan who defected to the Federation and James Kavannagh's second lieutenant."

Ayel led them to Jim. He and Kara were on the steps in front of the Council Chamber, both firing at the Separatist forces. But to Fox and Krystal's surprise, the Separatists weren't droids but rather a mixture of humans, Cornerians, and other species. Jim looked back and saw the two foxes standing behind him.

"Get down!" he shouted at them. "What the hell are you two doing here? I thought I told you to stay at the hotel!"

"Sorry but we had to belay those orders." Fox replied.

Jim rolled his eyes and emptied his magazine. He led Fox and Krystal back to the council chamber.

"Alright. If you're going to fight you're going to need something better than those blasters." he said as he led them to the armory. They were given standard Federation automatic rifles with six 50-round clips. Jim gave them orders to defend the Council Chamber at all costs. They would be aided by Ayel. The battle raged on.

After another fifteen minutes of fighting, Jim and Kara came back to the Council Chamber.

"We're just not getting anywhere. This is hopeless" Jim said.

Fox refused to believe that. He told Jim to bring up a map of the headquarters. After studying the map, Fox devised a plan.

"Alright, this is what we're gonna do." he began. "Okay. Krystal, you and Kara will move to help defend the library. The library contains the data banks for Memory Alpha. We can't let the Separatists hack into those records. Jim, Ayel, the three of us will head down the hallway and capture the storage room. Once that's done, we'll give Krystal and Kara some covering fire so they can meet up with us across the main hall. From there we'll move to take the planetarium. If we can take that, we'll be able to flank the Separatists at the main entrance and surround them in the main hall."

"I hope it works." Ayel said.

"It will work." Jim said. "It has to work."

The five of them got in position to head for there objective points.

"I'll toss a grenade to give us some cover. Once it goes off, make a run for it." Jim said. There were still huge numbers of Federation troops in the main hall, so the throw had to be perfect.

Jim hit the "arm" button and threw the grenade as far as he could. It landed in the middle of a group of Separatist troops, sending them flying in all different direction when it detonated.

At that moment, Fox, Jim, Ayel, Krystal, and Kara all ran for their objective points. Fox, Jim and Ayel easily took the storage room, and Krystal and Kara had and easy time protecting the library as well.

Once the storage room was taken, Fox, Jim and Ayel found some cover in the main hall and provided the two vixens in the library with covering fire. A few Federation soldiers help them out by providing extra covering fire and escorting Kara and Krystal across.

"Alright, now it's in to the planetarium." Fox said. Jim called out to a group of Federation soldiers.

"Commander, we're going to need your help." he said.

"What do you need, sir?" replied the Federation commander.

"I'm going to need all troops to put as much fire as possible on those Separatists. We need a good enough distraction for us to take the planetarium."

"We'll do what we can, sir."

"Good. Alright, let's get ready."

The four foxes and the Romulan prepared to make their attack.

The commander's voice was heard over the intercom. "All troops, suppressing fire! Repeat, suppressing fire!" As he said that, a wall of bullets hammered the Separatist forces, and the group made their assault.

Jim tossed a grenade inside the building, killing three enemies as it detonated. Fox, Krystal and Kara cleared out the rest of the enemy troops. Jim and Ayel then took up positions near the door and took advantage of the enemy's exposed flank.

They emptied two clips each and killed seven Separatists.

Jim then got on the intercom and ordered five federation soldiers to the planetarium. They would assist in the final assault.

The ten-man group then prepared to cut off the remaining Separatist forces.

"Make sure you have full clips. This is gonna be one hell of a fight." Jim said. The team put fresh clips into their magazines as they waited for Jim's order to attack. He got on the intercom and ordered another round of suppressing fire and the group took off.

They ambushed the Separatists who were guarding the entrance and began firing down the steps at the enemy troops at the bottom of the building. After they emptied three clips each, the Separatists at the bottom of the steps surrendered. Jim sent the five Federation troops down to arrest them as the rest of the group then concentrated their fire on the main hall.

After unloading the last of their ammunition on the troops in the main hall, they too finally dropped their weapons and surrendered.

The troops sounded the siren as the city lights came back on. The Federation had captured over 200 Separatists and Jim ordered that they be interrogated. Jim was called over by a Federation soldier.

"Sir, we've found the Separatist commander." he said. He led the group to the council chamber, where they enemy commander was being held. As he led them there, he explained to Jim that they weren't part of the regular Separatist army, but they did have ties to the CIS. In the Council Chamber, a Federation soldier standing over the enemy commander, interrogating him.

"I'm warning you, under penalty of court-martial, I order you to tell us who is responsible for this attack." The soldier said.

"I'm not afraid of this 'court-martial.'" said the enemy commander.

"Is that so?" said Jim. "Then why don't we make it under penalty of death?" he said as he pulled out his pistol, cocked it and held it up to the commander's head. "Start talking, you Separatist bastard."

The commander was unmoved. "Shooting me won't get you anywhere." he said.

"Maybe not, but it will set an example for the rest of your troops."

"I refuse." replied the commander.

"Have it your way, then." Jim said. He pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into the enemy commander's head and he fell to the ground. Krystal quickly turned away and buried her face in Fox's chest as Fox put his arms around Krystal.

"So, who's next?" said Jim in a cold voice. A Separatist private was chosen. He was shaking as he was thrown in front of the admiral. Jim held the gun up to his head and ordered him to surrender the information they wanted. Just looking into James Kavannagh's intimidating eyes was enough to break him.

"Wait. Please don't. I'll talk. I'll talk. I'll tell you everything." he pleaded.

"I know you will." Jim said in a low, cold voice. "Get him up!"

Two Federation troops stood him up and led him into a separate room for questioning. Jim followed them with the pistol pointed at the private's back.

At that moment, Falco, Slippy and Peppy arrived. They were shocked at the sight of the battle's aftermath.

"Dang! What'd we miss?" Slippy asked .

"One hell of a fight." Fox said.

"What happened?" asked Peppy.

"It was a group of Separatists with ties to the CIS. This must have been a preemptive strike." Krystal said.

"For what?" said Falco

"I'm not sure."

Suddenly, they saw Jim rushing out of the room where the enemy private was being held.

"Commander, send a message to Starfleet to get every ship available into space immediately! We're about to come in contact with over forty CIS starships!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: War Begins/A Regular Pearl Harbor**

At the Starfleet base, the alarm had been raised to prepare for battle. Every ship that was operating was prepped for battle. Even Star Fox was going up to fight. The team's Arwing fighters were placed in the hangar of the USS _Berlin_, the ship Jim had served aboard before the _Enterprise_. However, the USS _Enterprise_ would not be fighting, as she was still being repaired. Jim was assigned to the _Berlin_ with the Star Fox team. Jim met the team as they were headed to the ship.

"Wait a minute. Follow me." he said. The four pilots followed him, confused. He led them to a storage room.

"What are you doing?" Falco said in an annoyed voice.

"Trust me when I say that they won't let you anywhere near the ship in the clothes you're wearing. Here, put these on." Jim said as he tossed them each a Starfleet uniform. After they changed, Jim opened a compartment that held several different ranking insignias.

"Okay, I need to know your ranks. Slippy, what's yours?"

"I'm an engineer." Silppy replied.

"How good of an engineer?"

"I designed the Arwing and the Landmaster tank."

"Right. You'll be chief engineer." Jim replied, as he tossed him the engineer's badge.

He gave Falco the first commander's insignia, Krystal the first lieutenant's, and Fox the captain's. He showed them how to position the badges according to Starfleet regulation.

"Welcome to Starfleet." Jim said as he headed for the _Berlin_.

"Feels good to be back on this ship." Jim said. As he walked onto the bridge, the captain offered to surrender the captain's chair to Jim, but he refused, stating that he was on the ship as a fighter pilot for this mission. Soon, the order was given for all ships to launch. Starfleet was able to mass a force of fifty-six ships, including the _Berlin_, the USS _Exeter,_ the USS _Gettysburg_, the USS _Arizona_, and even the newly christened USS _Farragut_. The fleet contained about seventeen flagships and several other smaller cruisers.

The fleet entered orbit just as the CIS fleet appeared. Suddenly the voice of Lieutenant Data was heard over the intercom of the _Berlin_. The ship's regular first lieutenant had been injured in a training accident and Jim suggested that Data fill in for this mission.

Data ordered all pilots to the hangar area. Jim met the Star Fox team as they headed to the hangar.

"I tell yah, this is something else isn't it?" Falco said.

"It's a regular Pearl Harbor." Jim replied.

"What's 'Pearl Harbor'?" Krystal asked.

"Earth history. December 7, 1941, Stardate -381067.58. Over 300 Japanese airplanes attack the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands, marking America's entrance into the Second World War." Jim said.

"Yeah, that sounds like what's happening now." Fox said.

"Only on a much bigger scale."

While they were walking, Jim gave them their briefing.

"Alright, so here's the drill. We're gonna be going after the capital ship, _Providence_. The Separatists are using Trade Federation banking ships as frigates to protect it. I'll be piloting a Federation V-190 bomber. My job is to destroy the banking ships to clear a path for the landing party to get aboard the _Providence_. Your job is to keep the fighters off my back. Once the ships are destroyed, I will land back on the _Berlin_ to switch into an ARC-170 fighter and Fox will reassume command of Star Fox."

The team arrived in the hangar as the pilots were rushing to get the ships out as quickly as possible. The Arwings were ready and waiting for their pilots. Jim entered his V-190 as he waited for the rest of the team.

"Jim, this is Fox. We're ready to go."

"Alright let's move." At those words, the ships exited the hangar. Outside, Jim ordered the group to form up. As they got in formation, Jim made a dive for the first frigate. Like the _Providence_, the frigate was armed with a grid of auto-turrets. They pounded away at the bomber but the armor held fast.

Jim dropped his first payload on the frigate's command bridge and the auto-turrets fell silent. As Jim headed for the second ship, a CIS starfighter locked onto him.

"Fox, I've got one on my tail. I can't shake him."

"I'm on my way."

Fox came swooping in and shot down the droid fighter, sending it crashing into the second frigate's bridge, silencing the ships auto-turrets.

"Nice shot, Fox!" Krystal said over the intercom.

"Honestly, I didn't actually intend for that to happen." Fox replied. Krystal giggled at Fox's remark as she formed back up. Jim pointed the nose of his bomber at the last frigate. He looked at the ship and a puzzled look came over his face.

"There aren't any auto-turrets on this one." he said. Krystal flew underneath the ship and was met by a barrage of lasers. She came back up and rejoined the group.

"No, they're on the undercarriage!" she shouted. Jim brought the bombsights on the ship and dropped his second payload on the bridge. The auto turrets were still online.

"Damn! This one has heavier shields!" He came back around and dropped his third payload but the frigate still held on.

"Damn it! That was my last payload!" Fox looked at the frigate and saw that it was on its last legs. He broke away from the group and began to climb. He dove back down towards the frigate, aimed for the midsection and launched a nova bomb. It hit the ship's main reactor and caused a violent explosion.

"Excellent shot, Fox." Jim said. "Looks like all the frigates are down. I'm heading back to switch craft. Take over!"

"Alright, Star Fox, break off and pursue all enemies!" Fox ordered. The formation broke up as each pilot began to pursue their own targets. Krystal downed seven droid fighters in just five minutes. Falco downed ten.

As Fox was chasing a CIS Strike Bomber that was heading for the _Berlin_, he was intercepted by a droid starfighter.

"Krystal I've got one on my tail! Help me out!" he shouted.

"I'm on my way, Fox! Hold on!" Krystal said as she made a beeline for Fox's Arwing. She threw the Arwing into full throttle, but Fox's Arwing was simply too far away.

"Fox, I can't keep up with you!" she shouted.

The enemy fighter pounded Fox's fighter as he struggled to keep control.

_Please don't die, Fox,_ Krystal thought. Suddenly, they heard a voice on the intercom.

"Vengeance is mine says the Lord…" Jim said as he swooped in behind Fox in a Federation ARC-170 fighter and shot down the droid fighter, sending it crashing into the _Providence_'s communication relay. "…but he sub-contracts."

Fox laughed at Jim's 'quote.' "Perfect timing, Jim." Fox said.

"No problem. Listen up, I just received new orders. We need to keep the fighters away from the gunships carrying the landing party."

"Finally, some real fun!" Falco exclaimed. The gunships launched from the hangar and were immediately met by droid starfighters. The five pilots began chasing the Separatist fighters. It didn't take long for them to shoot them all down.

The gunships successfully made it inside the _Providence_'s hangar as the landing party moved in to sabotage the CIS flagship. The battle raged on for another twenty agonizing minutes. Suddenly, the team saw the gunships exit the enemy hangar at full throttle, and they knew what that meant.

The Star Fox tem followed the gunships to a safe distance. There was a tremendous explosion as the ship broke in half and plummeted to the planet's surface. Two Starfleet cruisers followed and used their tractor beams to make sure that the ship landed in the ocean and not on the city.

But just before the cruisers reached the wreckage, the _Providence _fired one last defiant shot, which struck the midsection of the USS _Arizona_, splitting the ship in two.

Jim's eyes widened as he looked at the destroyed Starfleet flagship. At that moment, he received more bad news. The captain of the _Berlin_ informed the team that a CIS droid regiment was attempting to hijack the _Tantive IV_ cruiser.

Jim and the rest of the Star Fox team headed back to the _Berlin_. They quickly ran for the ship's armory and geared up to assist the Federation soldiers on the _Tantive IV._ The team boarded a gunship and landed aboard the cruiser. There, they got their first look at the new droids.

They got off and met a platoon of Federation marines.

"Welcome aboard, Admiral." the commander said to Jim.

"What's the situation?" asked Jim.

"We've been able to keep the droids contained for now, but we don't know how long we can hold out."

The commander led Jim, Fox, Krystal, Falco and Slippy to the command center of the _Tantive IV_. They immediately heard the droids' blasters.

"Oh, hell, they broke out!" the commander shouted. They saw him run out the door and he was immediately cut down by the Separatists. Fox and Krystal quickly grabbed machine guns and went out to fight. Jim, Falco and Slippy did the same. When the group finally saw the droids in person, they were amazed.

The Super Battle Droids were much larger than the older battle droids, standing about six feet tall and their armor made them look even larger. And the Magna Guards were huge. They were about seven feet tall and were heavily armored. The pistols they were armed with fired short range rockets, which were highly effective in the close quarters of the _Tantive IV_.

The Separatists had huge numbers on the Federation cruiser. It took nearly fifteen minutes just to clear out the enemies in the hallway. The silence didn't last very long. Soon the halls were filled again and Fox and the crew was running out of ammo. Fox ordered them back to the control center.

"We're never going to clear out these droids if we don't take back the ship's armory. Here's what we're going to do." Fox went to one of the computers and brought up a map of the ship's interior. "Alright, after we head out the door, there should be two hallways to the left leading to the armory. Falco and Slippy will head down the furthermost hall way while Jim, Krystal and I will take the first hallway, that way we should put the Separatists in crossfire. After we take the armory, we'll head for the engine room. We'll have to disable the ship's warp drive capabilities if we are to claim total victory."

"You just continue to impress me, Fox." Jim said with a smile on his face.

The group took their positions as Fox, Jim and Krystal tossed three grenades into the hall, clearing it out instantly, and they made a run for it. As Fox, Krystal, and Jim turned the corner, they were met by a platoon of droids. They took cover behind some crates and destroyed the droids with the last of their grenades.

They opened the door and Fox gave the order to fire. As he planned, the enemy droids were caught in the crossfire and the group recaptured the armory. Jim got on his wrist communicator and ordered another friendly regiment to the _Tantive IV_. Jim's troops landed on the ship just as the Separatists launched a counter attack on the armory.

The Federation soldiers arrived just in time and halted the counter attack.

"You men are a sight for sore eyes." Jim said.

"What do you need us to do, sir?" asked the troop commander.

"We need to get to the ship's engine room and destroy the warp drive before the Separatists can make the jump into hyperspace." Fox said.

"Yes, sir. Alright men, move to the engine room!" the commander said as the soldiers began to move through the ship. Jim led a single platoon back to the bridge to make sure that if the Separatists did try to make the jump into hyperspace, there would be someone there to override the jump.

The troops made it to the engine room and were met by heavy fire from the Separatists. Fox and Krystal managed to clear the catwalk and the Federation troops moved in to sabotage the warp drive.

"Clear! Clear!" they shouted as the troops quickly cleared the room. There was a huge explosion as the bombs went off, destroying the warp drive and most of the droids. The troops reentered the room and mopped up the remaining Separatist forces.

"Jim, you there?" Fox said into his wrist communicator.

"Yeah, I'm on the bridge." Jim replied.

"The Separatists have been cleared out."

"Alright! Excellent job, Fox. Let's head back to the _Berlin_." Jim said and shut off his wrist communicator.

"Alright troops, we're done here. Let's turn this ship back around." Jim ordered.

"Aye, sir." The platoon commander said as he pointed the ship back to the fleet. The Star Fox team boarded a gunship and headed back to the _Berlin_. They headed up to the command bridge and looked out the frontal view of the ship to see the remainder of the CIS fleet make the jump into hyperspace. The Federation had won the battle.

All crew members were ordered into the ships assembly room to here a speech from Chancellor Earhart. A huge monitor displayed the main hall of the Federation Headquarters as the chancellor was standing on the steps in front of the Council Chamber, and the chancellor began his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe the time has come to reveal what has happened to the USS _Enterprise_. Yesterday morning, many of you witnessed the return of the _Enterprise_ and saw the wreckage of the ship. I spoke to Admiral James Patrick Kavannagh, the commander of the ship, and he told me what happened. Four days ago, the _Enterprise_ was attacked in the Parvenian System by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. At the time, the Federation was still in conversation with the Separatist government, looking toward a peace treaty with the CIS. It would seem as though diplomacy has failed. The attack on the _Enterprise_ has left thirty-two dead and sixty-seven injured. It has also come to my attention that the Separatists now control most of the Parvenian System's twenty-three planets, including the Federation planets of Tatooine and Naboo. Only a few hours ago, Federation Headquarters fell under Separatist attack, and only a few minutes ago, Starfleet was engaged in a battle against the CIS fleet in over the planet. It seems apparent that the CIS now seeks to eliminate the Federation once and for all. To achieve that goal, they are willing to kill many innocent people. As the Federation Chancellor, I tell you now that I refuse to stand by and watch the Separatists take over the galaxy. I tell you now that we will fight and we will claim victory over our enemies, so help us God. By the power vested in me, I declare, that since the unprovoked attacks on the USS _Enterprise_ and the planet of Corneria, a state of war now exists between the United Federation of Planets and the Confederacy of Independent Systems." And with that, he ended his speech.

Suddenly everyone in the assembly room started whispering among themselves. Fox and the others headed to their quarters aboard the _Berlin_. Krystal could sense that Fox was in distress but she decided to leave him alone this time.

Fox entered his quarters and lay down on the bed as he thought about what he'd read about the Day of Infamy from Earth history. He thought that was Jim said before the battle was exactly right. _It's a regular Pearl Harbor._

Fox got up and went to the window as he read the bold, black letters on the space dock in orbit around Corneria: PEARL HARBOR MEMORIAL SPACE DOCK.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Kamino **

The day after the battle against the CIS fleet, the USS _Enterprise_ was fully repaired and ready to head back out to the Parvenian System. Jim informed Fox that for this war, Star Fox was to be added to Starfleet. Fox asked Peppy if he wanted to help them fight, but he turned him down stating that not only was the Great Fox getting too old, but he was too.

Fox agreed and Peppy wished the team good luck. Fox, Krystal, Falco and Slippy boarded the _Enterprise_ and Jim showed them to their quarters. He also informed them that as long as they were on the _Enterprise_, he was their commanding officer. His first order to them was that they report to the bridge during the launch.

The group began settling in to their quarters when the alert for the launch was sounded. The Star Fox team quickly reported to the bridge as Starfleet prepared to depart for the Parvenian System. The fleet involved in this operation was much, much larger than the fleet that fought the Separatists the day before.

The Federation massed over 1000 starships and nearly five million troops. Fox and the group had never seen an army so big. Their jaws dropped as they saw the fleet in orbit over Corneria. Suddenly, Jim ordered maximum warp and the fleet was off.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, it'll take us twenty-four hours before we reach the Parvenian System. Report to the assembly room in four hours for briefing." Jim said. He looked over at the Star Fox team and dismissed them from the bridge.

Fox headed back to his quarters and Krystal could tell that there was still a lot on his mind. Although she had decided to give Fox some space the day before, she thought that she would follow him this time.

He sat on the edge of his bed and lowered his head. He heard the door slide open behind him as he saw Krystal standing there. She offered him a reassuring smile, which Fox returned.

"Hey, Krys." Fox said.

"Hey, Foxie." Krystal said with a smile.

"Is everything alright?"

"I just want to talk to you. I'm really getting worried about you."

Fox looked away. Krystal lifted Fox's chin and brought his eyes level with hers. Fox smiled as he looked into Krystal's beautiful blue eyes.

"I know there's been a lot on your mind, and I want to talk to you about it. You know you can talk to me, right?" Krystal said. Fox smiled and hugged the blue vixen. Krystal sighed as she held Fox.

"It's just that…I was hoping that we wouldn't get involved in another conflict. The last thing I wanted was to get you mixed up in another war. I don't want to see you get hurt." Fox said.

Krystal smiled and rested her head on Fox's shoulder. Fox kissed her head as he hugged her.

Krystal rolled her head up and gave Fox a deep, passionate kiss.

"I've never felt this strongly about anyone before in my life." Krystal said. Fox smiled and kissed Krystal's head again.

"I know I've had a lot on my mind, and I've been a bit stressed out, and I'm sorry. It's just that so much has happened in not very much time. But I want you to know that I still love you."

A tear of joy fell from Krystal's eye as she heard what Fox said.

"Just promise me one thing." Krystal said.

"Anything." Fox said.

"While we're out there, don't do anything…out of your league. Just be safe." Krystal said.

Fox smiled as he gave her a tender kiss.

"Don't worry, Krys. I'll be fine. Just be careful yourself."

"Are you implying that I can't take care myself?" Krystal said in a playful tone of voice. Fox smiled and stroked his hand through Krystal's blue hair.

"Not that." Fox laughed. "It's just that this is the biggest conflict we've ever been in."

Krystal smiled and gave fox a peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry, Foxie." Krystal said.

"I love you so much, Krystal."

"I love you too, Fox."

The two vulpines began to share a passionate kiss as the VAC beeped and Jim's face came up on the monitor.

"Hey, Jim what's up?" Fox asked.

"Hey, Fox. Ah good Krystal's there. In a few moments, look out your window. The fleet will be coming out of warp soon to pass through the Aqua Nebula. I'm told it's quite a sight." Jim said.

"Thanks." Fox said and turned off the monitor just as the fleet entered the nebula.

Fox and Krystal looked out the window and were amazed at what they saw. The nebula was beautiful. It looked like a giant wave but with a silky texture and was a beautiful shade of cerulean blue, about the same color as Krystal's eyes. The sight of the fleet passing through the nebula took the away the feeling of fear and war that was in the heart of every soldier and crewman in the fleet.

Fox looked over at Krystal, whose eyes were still glued to the sight of the nebula, and put his arm around her waist. Krystal looked into Fox's eyes and Fox into hers. The two vulpines smiled at each other and Krystal leaned her head against Fox as they stared off into space.

Suddenly the, lights of the ship went out, as the engineering crew had to conserve as much energy as possible to get through the nebula. The blue light from the space clouds illuminated the room.

"Isn't it beautiful, Fox?" Krystal said in a soft voice.

"It sure is." Fox replied.

"It's amazing that we get an opportunity to see this." Krystal said. "Not even the sunsets on Cerinia were this amazing." A tear came to Krystal's eye as she remembered her planet and her parents.

Fox saw the tear fall from her eye and wiped it away. Krystal looked up and smiled at him.

"I wish I could have gotten a chance to see your planet, Krystal." Fox said with a tone of compassion towards the young blue vixen.

A loving smile came across Krystal's face as she gave Fox a kiss on the cheek. Fox gave Krystal a slight pull of affection with the arm around her waist and the two continued to stare at the nebula. They were completely oblivious to the rest of their surroundings. The even forgot that they were on a ship.

The ship's lights came back on as the exited the nebula and reentered warp.

Just then, Lieutenant Data's voice came over the ship's intercom, ordering all personnel to the assembly room for mission briefing.

"Well, there goes that moment." Fox said. Krystal giggled and gave him a quick kiss as the two headed for the assembly room. They found Falco and Slippy who were already sitting down. They had saved two seats for Fox and Krystal. Just as they sat down, Lieutenant Data arrived and the whole room stood at attention.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated." Data said in his unmistakably calm voice. The crew was seated as the briefing began.

"Our first target of the war will be the planet of Kamino. The Separatist forces have captured a Kaminoan cloning facility in the city of Topica, and are now using it to manufacture battle droids. Our job is to land three regiments near the southernmost facility and capture it. Once that is in the hands of the Federation, an additional seven regiments will take the midsection of the cloning facilities. This section is vital to the operation, as these platforms serve as landing pads for the Separatist's smaller ships. If we can hold these, we will be able to capture the anti-air defenses on the platforms and prevent the CIS from launching air support. Farther north, there should be a platform overlooking the entire cloning facility. This platform must be captured if additional troops are to be landed on the surface. From there, all troops will converge on the final cloning facility. If we are successful, the CIS will be forced to shut down their droid manufacturing centers. The _Enterprise_ will be accompanied by the USS _Farragut_, the USS _Intrepid_ and the USS _Gettysburg_, along with seventeen other smaller cruisers. There is also one thing that the admiral wanted me to emphasize. During the battle, prisoners will be a requirement. We will need to capture some of the droids in order to scan their memory banks and attempt to locate the Separatists' main base of operations. The admiral has also instructed me to inform you that he will be fighting alongside the troops in the battle. That is all. You are dismissed."

Fox and Krystal looked at each other, a surprised and almost shocked look on both their faces. Jim was going to be fighting alongside the troops? This was a very unusual action for any officer in any military, let alone the Federation.

Fox and Krystal went up to the ship's command bridge to have a word with Jim.

"Yes, Fox? What is it?" Jim asked as he spun around in the captain's chair to see the two vulpines standing there.

"Jim, could Krystal and I have a word with you?" asked Fox.

"Very well. Ayel, take the Conn." Jim said as he followed Fox and Krystal to Fox's quarters.

"So what is this all about?" asked Jim as he sat down in the armchair next to the desk.

"Fox and I heard some…interesting news during the briefing." Krystal said. "Data told us that you would be fighting alongside the troops on the planet's surface. But surely he must be mistaken."

"Of course he's not. I gave him that information myself." Jim replied.

Fox went wide-eyed when he heard this.

"You can't be serious!" he said. "You're an admiral not a private!"

"Apparently, I haven't told you about my nickname in the Federation Army. I'm known to the troops as _The G.I. General_. Whenever there's a battle, I'm always down there, fighting with those men. If they're going to die, then I will die as one of them." Jim said.

Fox and Krystal still couldn't believe that Jim was going to do what no high-ranking officer would ever think of doing. General Pepper would have laughed at the idea if he could hear what Jim was saying now.

"I know that it seems odd to you, but I'm not going to let those troops fight without me. Besides, in this big of a conflict, I think it would add some morale to the troops if a high-ranking officer were down there with them."

Fox thought about it for a minute and finally decided that Jim's argument made sense.

"Well, it'll be interesting to see what you know as far as ground combat." said Fox.

"Oh, trust me when I say that you should be…fairly impressed." Jim replied with a reassuring grin on his face.

Fox chuckled at his remark and wished him good luck as Jim headed back to the bridge. Fox and Krystal spent the next few hours exploring the ship. They were amazed at the size. Seeing it from the outside was amazing enough, but their tour made them fully realize that when Kara had told them that it was easy to get lost on the ship, she wasn't lying.

By the time they had finished exploring the ship it was 11:00 p.m. Fox walked Krystal back to her quarters.

"Well, I guess tomorrow's gonna be our first big battle." Fox said.

"As if the Separatist attack on the Federation Headquarters wasn't big enough." Krystal said.

Fox smiled as he put his arm around her shoulder.

"I guess you have a point there, Krys."

The couple arrived at Krystal's quarters, only a few doors down from Fox's. Krystal gave Fox a tight hug before entering. She looked into Fox's eyes and Fox into hers.

"Fox, remember, while we're down there…please be safe."

"I will, Krystal." Fox said as he gave her a tender kiss.

"I love you, Krystal."

"I love you too, Fox."

Krystal went inside her quarters and Fox went back to his. Before he went to bed, he decided to do a little research on the planet that they were about to attack. He learned that it was a planet covered with water and the cloning facilities had been used to create an army for the Kaminoans some 300 years ago.

After his research, he lay down on his bed and began to fall into a rather uneasy sleep.

The next morning, Fox was awakened by the sound of the ships PA system alerting the crew that the fleet would be entering the Parvenian System in about an hour and a half.

Fox got up and popped the bones in his back as he got up. He immediately got dressed and went to the _Enterprise_'s armory to prepare for their landing on Kamino. While he was walking he bumped into Falco and Slippy. They had already geared up and were headed to the hangar to check and see which wave of troops they were assigned to.

Fox met Krystal in the armory. Krystal smiled as she looked at Fox and he smiled back.

"Morning, beautiful." Fox said as he walked by and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning, handsome." replied Krystal with a giggle in her voice.

Fox walked over and grabbed a Federation automatic rifle. From what he had heard, the Separatist resistance on Kamino was going to be pretty heavy so he decided to take extra ammunition. He stuffed eight 50-round clips into his bag along with four thermal detonator grenades and his blaster that he usually carried.

Krystal had the same equipment except for the fact that instead of her own blaster, she had a Federation commando pistol.

"So, Fox, are you ready for this?" asked Krystal with a weak smile.

"As I'll ever be." He replied.

Krystal took a deep breath, thinking about what would lie ahead of them. Fox smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace. Krystal felt a surge of relief as Fox held her.

"It'll be alright, Krys." Fox said in a soft voice. "I'll protect you."

Krystal smiled as she looked into Fox's eyes and gave him a tender kiss.

"I know you will." she said in a warm, loving voice. Fox felt Krystal's tail against his and he began to wrap his tail around hers. Suddenly, Data ordered all troops to prepare for battle. The _Enterprise_ had reached Kamino.

Fox and Krystal headed down to the hangar to check and see which wave they were assigned to. They were both assigned to the first wave. Jim had made sure that they were on the same wave, in the same company, and in the same regiment.

Jim made a final speech to the troops, wishing them good luck, for he knew that the faces of some of these brave men were about to be lost to the Separatists. Jim would be landing with the second wave of troops with Falco and Slippy.

Ayel gave the order for the first wave to board the landing shuttles. Fox and Krystal boarded. When they got on, they could easily pick out the newer recruits from the veterans. The newer recruits were either scared stiff or flat out arrogant and kept going on and on about how the Separatists were pushovers, while the veterans were virtually unmoved and kept scolding the new troops.

Suddenly, the shuttle jolted and the first wave headed to the surface. As they began their descent to the surface of Kamino, Ayel's voice came on the intercom.

"Alright, so you all know the drill. You're tasked with taking the southernmost cloning facility. Once that's cleared up, the second wave can land. You're probably going to be under fire the minute you land, so be careful. Good luck men. Ayel, out."

Fox looked at Krystal, and Krystal back at Fox. Fox offered a reassuring smile as they ships began to enter the atmosphere. There was a strong storm above the cloning facility, which was able to hide the shuttles.

This protection only lasted for so long. When the shuttles touched down, they immediately fell under fire. The troops scrambled to get out of the shuttles and find cover. Fox and Krystal found a few metal crates near the edge of the platform and began firing on the droids. suddenly, something caught Krystal's eye.

She looked at the inscriptions on the boxes, and her eyes widened.

"Fox, we have to move!" she shouted.

"What? Why!" Fox said with a bit of confusion. Then, one of the Super Battle Droids launched a wrist rocket at the crates on the other side of the platform. They exploded, killing the troops who were hiding behind them.

Fox looked at the inscription on the crates: AMMUNITION. HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE!

Krystal grabbed Fox and pulled him away from the crates just as one of the Supers launched a wrist rocket at them. The crates exploded, and the shock wave knocked Fox and Krystal to the ground.

Krystal's vision started to go blurry and she could barely stand up. Fox picked her up and ran behind the shuttle, which was now wrecked. He laid Krystal down and let her come back to her senses.

"They sure pack a punch, don't they, Krys." Fox said. "Are you alright?"

"Mm-hmm. I'm fine, Foxie. I just had the wind knocked out of me. I'll be fine." Krystal said.

Fox bent down and gave Krystal a kiss. The two vulpines smiled at each other. Fox went over to the windshield of the shuttle, using the wrecked ship as cover as he fired on the droids. As soon as Krystal was back on her feet, the commander gave the order to press the attack. All of the troops began to advance across the bridge that connected the platform with the cloning facility.

The troops overwhelmed the Separatist forces. The saboteurs then placed bombs on the droid manufacturing machines.

"Clear! Clear!" they shouted as the troops ran out of the building. The bombs detonated, destroying the droid manufacturing machines. The commander then gave the go-ahead to the rest of the troops to land.

Back on the _Enterprise_, Ayel gave the order for the second wave to board the shuttles. Falco, Slippy and Jim boarded and got ready to "kick some Separatist ass," as Falco put it. the shuttles took off as they saw the planet that they were going to land on.

"It looks just like Aquas." Slippy said.

"Yeah, only with a cloning facility and droids." Falco replied.

The shuttles entered the atmosphere. As soon as they cleared the cloud cover, they were met by a barrage of anti-aircraft fire. Two shuttles took direct hits and fell to the surface, crashing into the water. Falco went wide-eyed and tense. Once the shuttle landed, he quickly ran out and found cover. Slippy did the same.

Falco saw that the AA guns were now pointed at the cloning facility and were firing on Fox and Krystal's regiment. Falco pulled out a thermal detonator grenade and hurled it at the gun. It exploded, doing minor damage to the gun but destroyed the droid controlling it. Jim pulled out a fusion cutter and repaired the gun

"What are you doing? I thought we were supposed to destroy those!" Falco said.

"We're charged with capturing them so we can prevent the CIS from launching air support." Jim said.

Fox and Krystal's regiment started to move toward the center platform, where the second wave was located.

"Man, you guys are a sight for sore eyes." said Falco.

"Did you take the cloning facility?" Jim asked.

"Yes, we did. The droid manufacturing machines are destroyed." Krystal said.

"Excellent. Now we just need to take the southernmost facility." Jim said. "We also need the take the southern platform so more reinforcements can land."

"Okay. We're gonna need to move fast. I don't think the Separatists are too happy about us destroying their facility." said Fox. As soon as he said that, the droids launched a counter attack. The Federation soldiers manned the AA guns and the anti-infantry turrets and the battle was underway.

Fox, Jim and Slippy found some cover and began to fire on the droids who were trying to cross the bridge. Krystal found a sniper rifle and began to take out the droid snipers, known to the Federation as Assassin Droids. Falco was in one of the AA guns.

Jim soon ran out of ammo. He looked around and saw an ammunition crate. He began to run for it, but just as he was about to reach it, a Magna Guard fired a rocket at one of the turrets. The turret exploded, sending a bit of shrapnel into Jim's right leg and the shock wave knocked him to the ground.

Like Krystal, Jim's vision began to go blurry, his breathing was heavier and he could barely push himself up. He crawled to the ammo crates and called for a medic. A medic arrived to take care of Jim's leg. But just as he got out his medical kit, the medic was cut down by an Assassin Droid. Krystal saw the shot and quickly destroyed the droid who fired it.

Jim grabbed the medical kit and began to heal himself. He managed to extract the shrapnel and bandage his leg. He then unsheathed his combat knife and pried open the ammo crate.

Fox was running out of ammo too. He looked back and saw Jim, lying on the ground with a bandaged leg, collecting ammo. Falco gave Fox covering fire as he ran over to meet Jim.

Jim looked up to see Fox and a grin came over his face.

"You see this is the kind of stuff that screams 'I need a raise.'" Jim said as he gestured to his injured leg. Fox chuckled as he began to collect his ammo.

"I wonder how the Separatists were able to get their hands on Federation ammo." Fox said.

"Probably from Naboo and Tatooine." Jim replied. Fox ran back to his position while Jim limped back to his.

Falco aimed his AA gun for a Separatist ammo dump on the platform and fired. The blast quickly cleared the way for the Federation troops. All troops began to advance. Jim ordered half of the troops to take the cloning facility and the other half to take the southern platform.

Both groups ran into high resistance. Jim followed the troops who were heading for the facility while Fox, Krystal, Falco and Slippy started moving it to take the platform.

Jim threw a thermal detonator down the entrance hall. It detonated, destroying all the droids. The troops moved in and captured the facility. The engineers began to move through and use their bolt rifles to disable the droids so that they could be captured and the Federation could scan their memory banks and located the Separatists base of operations.

The troops then exited the building to assist the soldiers on the southern platform. The Star Fox team was making the most kills out of the entire regiment. As soon as the army grouped back up, they began to press their final attack.

The droids were quickly defeated and the platform was taken. The battle had ended.

"Well, that was one hell of a fight." Jim said to the Star Fox team. They all laughed in agreement, except for Falco who was just laughing out of shock. That was the biggest battle he had ever been in. He was amazed that he was still alive.

"Kavannagh to _Enterprise_."

"_Enterprise_, Lieutenant Ayel."

"Ayel, contact the rest of the fleet and tell them to land the rest of their troops to secure the rest of the city."

"Aye, sir."

"Well, I'd say that's enough excitement for one day." Jim said as the rest of the team laughed. Suddenly, the rest of the shuttles arrived, each one carrying more troops. Fox, Krystal, Jim, Falco and Slippy boarded one of the shuttles and it took them back to the _Enterprise_. Ayel and Kara were waiting for them in the hangar.

Kara ran up to Jim and threw her arms around him.

"Easy with the leg, Kara." Jim said with a laugh. Kara saw his leg was bandaged.

"What happened, Jim?" Kara asked with a tone of shock.

"Maybe next time I should run a bit faster." said Jim. Kara giggled and kissed Jim.

"I'm so glad you're alright. All of you." Kara said.

"Well, I'm going back to my quarters for a while. I'll be back up on the bridge soon."

"Alright, Jim. You deserve a little rest."

Jim went back to is quarters, and the Star Fox team did the same. As usual, Fox walked Krystal to her quarters. The two walked back hand in hand, Krystal resting her head on Fox's shoulder the whole way.

"Thanks for protecting me, Foxie." Krystal said in a soft voice.

"Anytime, Krystal." Fox replied.

The couple reached Krystal's quarters. The doors slid open as Krystal spun around and gave Fox a passionate kiss.

"I can't wait for our next assignment." said Krystal with a playful smile on her face.

"I just hope it won't be as bad." Fox said. Krystal laughed at his remark and hugged him.

"I'd better let you get some rest. We've still got a whole war ahead of us." Fox said as he gave the blue vixen a tender kiss.

"Goodnight, Fox. I love you."

"I love you too, Krystal."

Krystal went back into her quarters as Fox went into his. He sat down at his desk as he led out a breath of relief as he thought about the battle.

Krystal was sitting on her bed removing her jewelry from her hair. He sat at her desk and smiled at a picture of Fox that she had taken with her on the voyage.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Battle of Kashyyyk Part 1**

Jim was in his quarters, sitting at his desk. There was a picture of him and Robert Archer. Archer was one of the thirty-two crewmen who were killed on the _Enterprise_'s reconnaissance mission. A tear came to Jim's eye as he thought about his friend. He had done so much for Jim.

He had taken several shots for Jim, he had always watched his back during space battles, and he even helped Jim develop a relationship with Kara. Robert Archer was Kara's third cousin. Kara was an only child and she considered Robert the closest thing to a brother she had. She told him everything, and when she and Jim started falling for each other, she immediately went to Robert for advice.

He knew that Jim liked Kara and he was immediately in favor of a relationship between the two of them. Jim took a liking to Kara on his first day. All three of them were assigned to the USS _Farragut. _Though he never really showed it, Jim really liked Kara. Robert was the only one who knew about it. He then devised a little plan to bring Jim and Kara together, which was a brilliant success. The day Archer died was terrible for both of them.

While Jim was reflecting on his friendship with Archer, he heard his door slide open. He looked behind him and his beautiful girlfriend was standing in the doorway.

"Come in, Kara." Jim said with a smile. Kara stepped in and Jim went back to reminiscing. Kara sighed and wrapped her arms around Jim's neck.

"Are you alright?" Kara asked.

"It's just…I just wish that there is more I could have done to save his life."

Kara looked at the photograph and a tear came to her eye. However, Kara seemed to be handling Archer's death a little better than Jim. Jim was more affected because he felt so much guilt. He was the commander of the ship. The _Enterprise_ was in his control and he was, in essence, responsible for everything the crew and ship did. For that reason, he felt responsible for every single one of those thirty-two deaths.

"Listen to me Jim. There was nothing you could have done. You did your best, but the sad truth is that people die in war. I know that you feel responsible but it wasn't your fault." Kara said softly.

Jim was silent for a moment and then nodded his head. He stood up and hugged Kara tightly.

"If there's one thing I can thank Robert for that would be getting us together."

Kara giggled at his remark. The two of them began to share a passionate kiss. They stood there with their lips locked for several minutes, neither of them pulling away. Their kiss was broken when they were called to the bridge.

"You stay here, Jim. You need some rest. I'm sure it's nothing too big."

"Alright. When you get up there, go ahead and take the Conn."

"Okay, Jim. I love you."

"I love you too, Kara." Jim gave Kara one last kiss as she left for the bridge, leaving Jim to fall asleep in his quarters.

The next morning, Jim woke up very early and made his way to the bridge. Data was already there and at his post.

"Data, what's our current condition?" asked Jim.

"Admiral, the ship is running low on supplies. I have directed the ship to the planet of Kashyyyk. We should be able to resupply there."

"Right. Wake the rest of the crew up."

"Aye, sir."

Data sounded the wake-up call and the crew was up and going. When Fox got up, he immediately went to the hangar to check on his Arwing. It had taken a few dents during the Separatist raid on Corneria. Slippy had already beaten him there and was working on repairs. Fox decided to go ask Jim what the next plan was. While he was on his way, he ran into Krystal, who had again beaten him. She already knew the plans for the day.

"Apparently, we're going to Kashyyyk to resupply. This should be good. A chance to finally get at least a _little_ rest."

Fox laughed and was about to lean in to give Krystal a small peck on the lips but was stopped when he heard Jim call him to the bridge, and he sounded pretty serious. Fox got to the bridge and everyone was in distress.

"Jim, what's going on?" Fox asked.

"A little change in plans. The CIS has landed on Kashyyyk. We're going down to support the wookies."

"Oh, Hell."

"I've already informed the rest of the fleet. Briefing should be in a few minutes."

"Got it. I'll go tell the others."

Fox found Falco, Slippy, and Krystal in the hangar and he explained the situation. Falco and Slippy groaned about the fact that they had to fight and Krystal scolded them for being so selfish, telling them that they should think about how scared a lot of the wookies on the surface were.

"They must feel so helpless. Wouldn't you feel the same way if your planet was attacked?"

Slippy took Krystal's words into consideration but Falco still groaned. Data's voice was heard on the intercom as he called everyone to the assembly room for briefing. This time, instead of Data, it was Ayel giving the mission overview.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated." Ayel began. "Now, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that this mission should be more straightforward than Kamino. It is a simple beach defense. The bad news is that the Separatists seem to really want this planet. Ensign, lights." The lights then went dark and Ayel pulled up a hologram of the planet. "The Separatists have set up a blockade around the planet and have landed 1.5 million droids on the surface. The wookies are strong but the number of droids is just too much. Our first task is to eliminate the blockade. The Separatist fleet numbers at least three hundred starships, including their newest flagship, _Invisible Hand_. In order to achieve full victory, we are going to send in the entire all of our starships. They will be split into three separate task forces. Task Force A will be led by the USS _Gettysburg_, Task Force B will be led by the USS _Enterprise_, and Task Force C will be led by the USS _Yorktown_. After we clear out the enemy ships, we'll be able to land our troops. We are tasked with defending the beaches of the Kashyyykian city of Kachirho. We are not very sure how long this conflict will last, but we are to remain there until the separatists are completely wiped out. That is all. As you were."

The meeting was dismissed and everyone prepared for the upcoming battle. Many of the pilots were prepping their ships and the troops were making sure that their weapons were in good condition. This time, it sounded like they were really going to be in for a fight. That night, everyone was talking about the battle to come. Everyone was on their toes. But many people reasoned that it was probably best to forget about it and try to calm down. This included Fox, Krystal, Jim and Kara. That night in the lounge, they were just sitting and talking. They were reflecting on the past, Fox and Jim's time at the academy, Fox's first time with the Star Fox Team, Jim's first time in Starfleet. Krystal and Kara talked about their experiences with the two vulpines as well. Kara talked quite a bit about first meeting Jim and Krystal spent a while talking about her recent experiences with Fox and the crew.

It was getting late and they reasoned that they were going to need their rest. As usual, Fox and Jim walked Krystal and Kara to their chambers and kissed them goodnight before retiring themselves.

The next morning, Fox walked Krystal to the hangar to get ready for the opening moves of the battle. When they got there, the hangar was packed. Every pilot was gearing up, bombers were being loaded, and fighters were being prepped. This was going to be the biggest space battle the Star Fox team would ever be in so far (Their biggest would be over Naboo at the end of the war). Jim had already ordered that their Arwings be prepared. Fox was shocked to find that Jim was in the hangar.

"Jim, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Getting ready for a fight."

"You're going in with the rest of us?" Krystal asked in astonishment.

"I started out as a pilot and it's what I love to do." Jim replied.

Fox smiled and shook his hand. "Good luck then."

"I don't need any luck. I was born lucky."

"_Attention. This is the lieutenant speaking. The fleet has reached Kashyyyk. All pilots prepare to engage the enemy."_ Ayel said over the intercom.

"Alright. Let's get ready." Fox said. Falco and Slippy had already beaten them to the Arwings and were ready to go. Fox helped Krystal into her Arwing and they took a minute to look into each other's eyes.

"Be careful out there, Fox. I don't want to lose you." Krystal said.

"Don't worry, Krys. I'll be fine." replied Fox as he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"I hate to break up this moment but we have a job to do." Falco butted in.

Fox smiled and shook his head as he left for his own Arwing. He climbed into the cockpit and closed the canopy. The minute the canopy sealed itself, all the instruments were activated. As soon as every pilot was ready, the hangar doors opened and the ships exited the hangar. Outside, all ships were ordered to assume their attack formations. As the assembled, they got their first glimpse at the Separatist fleet. It was enormous. Even though Starfleet completely dwarfed it, they were all pretty impressed by the size of the enemy fleet.

"Alright, Star Fox, we're going to form up with Rogue Squadron to take out the _Invisible Hand_'s communications relay. Once the flagship is cut off from the rest of the fleet, it'll be a sitting duck." Fox said.

"Alright, Fox. Uh…is the _Invisible Hand_ the ship crawling with Vulture fighters?" Falco said.

"Unfortunately, yes? That's why we're forming up with Rogue Squadron. Rouge Leader?"

"Yes, sir?" replied the leader.

"Is your squadron complete?"

"Yes, sir. We're ready and waiting."

"Alright. Form your squadron behind us. Get ready for battle."

"We'll follow you in. All wings report in."

"_Rogue 10, standing by."_

"_Rogue 7, standing by."_

"_Rogue 3, standing by."_

"_Rogue 6, standing by."_

"_Rogue 9, standing by."_

"_Rogue 2, standing by."_

"_Rogue 11, standing by."_

"_Rogue 5, standing by."_

"Lock s-foils in attack position." All of the ARC-170s then opened their s-foils and prepared for the assault.

"Star Fox, arm all weapons and prepare for the attack." Fox said.

Back on the _Enterprise_, Kara was in command of Task Force B. Jim decided to give Kara command of the _Enterprise_ for this battle. Usually, he would give the Conn to either Ayel or Data as Ayel was a Romulan and war was in his very nature and Data was an android, which made him an excellent leader. But this time, Jim had reasoned that Kara had learned enough about his own tactics and decided to leave the ship in her command.

"What are your orders, captain?" Data asked.

"All ahead one half." Kara replied. The ship began to advance toward the enemy fleet, along with the rest of the task force.

Jim was with his squadron who was also advancing toward the fleet. About halfway there, Jim spotted several little dots in the distance. As the quickly neared, he saw that they were enemy fighters.

"All craft pull up!" he shouted the squadron followed Jim and just barely avoided being shot down. The droids were coming at them with guns blazing. The same thing happened to Fox's squadron and the dogfight began. The crew witnessed this on the _Enterprise_.

"Do we fire, captain?" Ayel asked.

"No. Not yet. We might hit our own fighters. Arm phasers anyway. We need to keep the enemy fighters off of us. All ships raise shields."

"Aye, captain."

All ships in the task force raised their shields and armed their phasers. In "no-man's-land," the fighting raged on. Star Fox was fighting valiantly with Rogue Squadron. Fox had already downed seven droids, Krystal six, Falco ten, and Slippy five. Not a single fighter from Rogue Squadron had been shot down yet. But soon the fighters began to swarm the task force.

"Gold Squadron, form up. We need to protect the _Enterprise_." Jim said over the intercom.

The squadron formed up and made a beeline for the _Enterprise_. Kara had ordered all guns to fire on the enemy ships. By the time Jim's squadron had reached the _Enterprise_, all enemy ships had been shot down. Jim smiled as he looked out his cockpit at the command bridge. _That's my girl,_ he thought.

He then ordered the rest of the squadron back to the fight. After a few more minutes of fighting, the droids retreated to the fleet.

"Alright squadron, let's go get 'em." Jim ordered.

"Good job Star Fox. Time to hit 'em hard." Fox said to his squadron.

The fighters began to advance toward the fleet and Kara gave the order for the task force to advance as well and engage the Separatists. The fighters entered the fray first and began to pummel the enemy forces. Fox and his squadron began to make their assault on the _Invisible Hand_.

"Fox, their shields are still up." Krystal said.

"Don't worry. I've already taken that into consideration. Rogue Group, take out the shield generator. It should be on the ship's undercarriage near the bow."

"Yes, sir. All wings move to engage the ship." With that, Rogue squadron broke off and began to fire on the shield generator. Star Fox concentrated on keeping the fighters off their backs. After several shots, the shields were down and the squadron began to attack the communications relay. It was a large dish on the top of the ship. However, it was well protected by a grid of auto turrets and the enemy fighters didn't make the job any easier either.

"Fox, I've got one on my tail! I can't get rid of him!" Krystal shouted.

"I'm on my way! Hold on!" Fox replied.

Krystal kept trying to outmaneuver the fighters and while she was flying, all the enemy ships were suddenly destroyed.

"Thanks, Fox."

"That wasn't me."

Fox and Krystal looked to the left and saw what shot down the droids. It was the USS _Voyager_, an Intrepid-class starship. Task Force B had engaged the enemy fleet. As the rest of the fleet advanced, the _Voyager_ descended on the _Invisible Hand_ and fired a photon torpedo which struck the communications relay. The enemy flagship was now cut off from the rest of the fleet. Star Fox and Rogue Squadron then began to assault the rest of the ship. They received help from the USS _Farragut_ and the USS _Odyssey_. The ships opened fire on the _Invisible Hand_ with every gun they had. Fox and Krystal then followed each other in and launched two nova bombs at the ship's center mass, striking the main reactor and the _Invisible Hand_ exploded right down the middle. Starfleet quickly dealt with the rest of the fleet. Soon all ships were destroyed and the landings could proceed. All fighters then returned to their designated starships.

When Fox entered the hangar, everyone was cheering over the victory they had won over the CIS. Falco and Slippy were pretty happy about the victory too. As soon as Fox got out of the cockpit, Krystal ran up and threw his arms around him. Fox swept her off her feet and spun her around a few times. This was a huge victory for the Federation and now they were halfway done. Little did they know, though, the second half would be the hardest.

Jim returned to the bridge and Kara did the same as Krystal, running up to Jim and throwing her arms around him. Jim then gave Kara a passionate kiss. Many of the younger crewmen snickered at the sight but Jim just blew them off and reassumed command of the _Enterprise._ Fox was back in his quarters with Krystal. Both of them were winding down from the battle.

"Well, we're halfway done." Krystal said.

"Yep. That was one hell of a fight." Fox replied.

"Yes it was. You were an excellent leader Fox."

"Well, Starfleet did most of the work."

"Don't be so modest, Foxie. You're a great leader." Krystal leaned up and kissed Fox passionately. Their lips remain locked for a few minutes until they received the order for all troops to prepare to land on the surface of Kashyyyk.

"We'd better get going, Krys. Let's hope that this won't be as bad as Kashyyyk." Fox said.

"From what the fleet looked like, it just might be more difficult." Krystal said.

"Well, it's a beach defense. How simple could you get?"

"Just because it's simple, doesn't mean it'll be easy."

A look of concern came over Fox's face. He could tell that Krystal knew what they were in for.

"How many Separatists are down there? Can you tell?"

"I'm sensing a very large enemy presence. I fear that there may be more than previously estimated."

"The Separatists were estimated at 1.5 million. You're saying that there could be more?"

Krystal gave Fox a slow head nod. "Honestly Fox, I'm really scared."

Fox held Krystal tightly as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's going to be fine, Krystal. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You'll be fine."

"I'm not just scared for my own life. I'm scared for you. I can't bear to lose you."

"Nothing's gonna happen to me either." Fox continued to hold Krystal in his arms until they final call was heard over the intercom for the landing. "We'd better get going Krystal." Fox gave the vixen a quick peck on the lips. "Don't worry Krys." The vixen smiled at the vulpine as they walked out the door and headed to the landing craft.

In the hangar, the first shuttles were already taking off and heading for the surface of the planet. They boarded their shuttle and prepared to head out. The shuttle then separated from the hooks with a jolt and took off for the planet. As they entered the planet's atmosphere, they got their first glimpse at the city of Kachirho. It was a pretty impressive looking settlement and there were already several thousand troops on the beach, accompanied by thousands of wookies, ready to defend their homeworld. The shuttle landed and Fox and Krystal stepped onto the surface of Kashyyyk for the first time. Jim was already on the surface, still in his Starfleet uniform.

"Ah, you made it. Welcome to Kashyyyk." Jim said.

"This is pretty impressive." Fox replied. "So, have the Separatist tried anything funny yet?"

"Not yet. We'll be sending out probe droids to check on them soon. I'll be monitoring that operation in a bit. I'm just down here to make sure everything goes as planned." Suddenly, his communicator beeped.

"Kavannagh here."

"_Admiral, this is Lieutenant Ayel. We're about to launch the probe droids, sir."_

"Alright, I'll be right up." He then turned back to Fox and Krystal. "Well, this is it. Good luck. _Enterprise_, this is Admiral Kavannagh. Ready to beam up." The transporter was energized and Jim was beamed back aboard the vessel. He then proceeded to make his way to the bridge to survey the probe droid operation.

"Kara, how's Tom doing?"

"He's just about to launch, Jim."

Thomas Buchanan was a crew member who was notorious for wrecking probe droids but was, ironically, the only one who knew how to properly operate them. However, because of his recklessness, Jim had been teaching Kara how to operate them.

"Alright, launch the droid." There was a sound of a rocket burst and a small capsule was launched toward the planet. On the beaches of Kachirho, the troops watched the probe droid enter the atmosphere. It then collided with the planet with a loud _boom_.

Back on the _Enterprise_, droid's camera view was brought up on the bridge's screen as Tom Buchanan began to search for the enemy base.

"Let's just hope Tom doesn't mess it up this time." Kara said.

"He's actually doing pretty well." Jim replied as the droid maneuvered through the archipelago. However, it would appear that Jim had spoken too soon as the droid smashed into the side of one of the islands at a great speed. Jim then let his face fall into his open palm.

"Kara." Jim said in a calm voice.

"Yes, Jim."

"Could you please go down to the engineering bay and relieve Mr. Buchanan of his position?"

"Yes, Jim."

"Thank you, sweetheart." As Kara left for the engineering bay, Jim got on the intercom. "Thomas Buchanan?"

Tom went over to the intercom and replied. "Yes, sir?"

"Well, congratulations Tom. Five in one week. A new record. Guess who's paying for them this time."

"…Me, sir?"

"Damn straight. I am not going to pay for another droid. Now First Officer Kara Williams should be arriving soon. Are you there Kara?"

"Yes, Jim. I'm here."

"Good. Now Kara, relieve Mr. Buchanan. Tom, get your ass out of that seat and do something a little more productive than wrecking our probe droids! We are trying to win this goddamn war!"

"Yes, sir."

A second probe droid was launched and Kara began to pilot it toward the Separatist base. As she neared, she activated the cloaking device. They were able to get their first glimpse at the Separatist army. When Jim, Kara, and Ayel saw this, their jaws hit the floor. It was enormous. Only a fraction of this army could give the Federation a challenge and this was the army that would be hitting the beaches of Kachirho.

Down on the planet's surface, Fox and Krystal managed to find Falco and Slippy in one of the bunkers near the seawall. While they were talking, Jim got on the com link and informed them of the size of the enemy army.

"You sure you aren't exaggerating?" Falco said in a skeptical tone. A holographic image of the Separatist then emitted from Fox's wrist communicator. "Okay then. That's big."

"Exactly." Jim replied. "We might be on this planet a while. Hopefully we can leave successful. I'll be down there soon." Jim was then interrupted. "Wait one minute." There was a pause on the other end before he got back on. "Guys, the droids are starting up their main power generators. It looks like I won't be down there for the first wave. We'll have probe droids down there to send video feedback to the rest of Starfleet. Good luck." And with that, James Kavannagh went silent.

"Okay guys, let's get ready. Falco and Slippy, make sure those droids don't breach the seawall." Fox said.

"You got it, Fox." Slippy answered. Fox and Krystal made there way to their positions on the beach while Falco and Slippy geared up for the oncoming battle. As Fox and Krystal arrived, the first wave of droids appeared out of the archipelago.

"This is it. Ready Krystal?" Fox said. Krystal said nothing but just nodded her head. Fox could tell that she was scared. He put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. "It'll be fine. We'll make it." The wookies on the beach then got out of their foxholes and began to shake their weapons above their heads as the shouted their war cries. The shore guns began to fire on the Separatist forces. The rest of the troops began to take their positions as the Separatist fired back. Shells began to land everywhere on the beach. With every explosion, Krystal grimaced. Fox took her hand and offered her a reassuring smile. "I love you."

"I love you too, Fox." As Krystal said that, the Separatists hit the beach and the troops opened fire.

The battle's opening moves were very violent, with neither side showing any signs of surrender. The droids managed to claim a beachhead, forcing the Federation back to the seawall. As they were running, Fox was shot in the leg by a Super Battle Droid. His face cringed as he fell to the ground. he pulled out his blaster pistol and destroyed the droid that shot him and began to limp back to the seawall. Krystal kept running, but soon realized that she was alone. She looked back to see Fox limping back to the wall, and the Separatists were catching up to him.

"FOX!" she screamed as she ran back to help him. She ran over to his side and emptied a magazine on the droids. She helped him back to the seawall, but got there just as the gates closed.

"Open the door!" Fox shouted.

"There's someone still out there!" the commanding officer said. "Open the gates! Quickly!" As the gates opened, the bunkers let out a wall of bullets on the droids.

"We need a medic!" Krystal shouted.

"Krystal, it's okay. It's not that bad." Fox protested. Krystal didn't listen to him and called for a medic again. The medic arrived and began to patch up Fox's leg. As this was happening, the wookies leaped over the wall and began to fight back. Falco and Slippy watched with amazement from their bunker as the wookies began to literally tear the droids apart. The first wave of Separatists was defeated, but there was still more to come.

Jim beamed down to the surface for the second wave, along with several thousand reinforcements. Starfleet began to send down more troops and ammunition, V-190 bombers, ARC-170 fighters, tanks, artillery, etc. For days it was the same thing over and over: the Separatists would attack, the Federation would defend, the Federation would counterattack and the Separatists would defend. Days began to blur into weeks. It seemed like the Separatists would never give up. Finally, Jim and Fox had had enough. and began to devise a plan that might just mean the end of the battle for Kashyyyk.


End file.
